


The sorcerer's apprentice

by LadyViola101



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: F/M, first fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 34,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22282969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyViola101/pseuds/LadyViola101
Summary: Daughter of the late Queen Zelda, Lily, finds herself in an unfortunate predicament. On her eighteenth birthday, she finds herself captured by the ancient wind sorcerer, Vaati. Link, King of Hyrule hears the news of his missing daughter and sets out to search for her. Lily is caught up in the midst of it all, and in the end, she will have to choose her fate.
Relationships: Vaati/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first time posting on this site, this fic was is originally posted to Fanfiction.net.

A baby's wail was heard throughout the castle, signaling the maids and the servants that a new heir had been born. The King rushed to his wife's side, clutching her clammy hands.

"Zelda! my love! please hold on a little longer please."

Queen Zelda's face was wet with tears, tears of her own, and her beloveds. "Link... I want you to do something for me." Zelda said.

King Link looked at the baby, their baby, in the nurse's arms, "I-it's a girl, your Majesty!"

Link looked back at his dying wife, staring into her cerulean eyes.

"T-the four sword has broken again, I- I feel it's power grow strong, the bonds grow weaker. Our baby, y-you must hide her, she cannot grow up here, within this castle." Zelda whispered.

Link looked at his wife in confusion, then in realization.

"She will hold power, t-the light force. You must take her somewhere else, s-somewhere she'll be safe."

Link held on to her hand, desperation gripping at his heart. He cursed the Goddess for taking his wife so soon. "I will my love, our daughter means everything to me." Link eventually responded.

Suddenly the queen stopped moving, her head going completely still and her eyes unmoving. Dozens of nurses rushed to her side, checking her pulses but to no avail, there was none.

The King fell silent, burrowing his head into the crook of her neck, mourning over her death. "She's gone, your Majesty." one of the nurses said sadly.

Link got up and went over to one of them that was carrying the child. He stared into her eyes, she looked so much like her mother.

"Elisa, I need you to take my daughter away from this castle. With my order, I need you to raise her and to care for her. This place is dangerous for her." link said. 

Elisa, the nursemaid looked down at the beautiful baby girl. "Yes, your majesty."

Suddenly there was a loud train-like sound, coming from the throne room. The King looked to Elisa. "Hurry! you must go now, I fear the castle has been attacked."

Quickly as she could she headed out into the halls, making a quick turn towards the throne room. A giant black vortex had engulfed the throne room, guards running from all directions trying to escape its suction.

Elisa turned around and ran in another direction, remembering an escape window in the basement of the castle.

Screams filled her ears as servants, guards and councilmen ran past her running in a blind panic. Finally, she made it to the window. 

Opening it and holding the babe in her hands with the utmost care. Climbing down the latter, she made it outside. Amongst the chaos, the babe in her arms was still sound asleep. Elisa looked down at the sleeping child.

"I'll call you Lily." Wrapping a cloak around herself, she fled towards the town. 

"Nana, I'm home!" 

Lily yelled as she took off her shoes, suddenly tired from all the walking around the market.

" Tsk tsk you poor soul, you look like you'll drop from exhaustion", her Nana said.

Lily gave a huff and dropped on the sofa. Her Nana smiled and lightly patted her on the head, " you don't have to cook today dear, I'll do that instead, you go upstairs and get some rest".  
Lily flashed a smile, "Okay!" and bounded up the stairs.

Lily was a seventeen-year-old girl, who was too curious for her own good. Most of her life growing up consisted of staying indoors, which of course, she grew bored of. Living on the outskirts of Castle town and wanting to know what was beyond the town gates. She wanted to be a scholar or a historian when she grew up, she was always fascinated by history. 

"Tomorrow's my eighteenth birthday huh?", Lily sat on her vanity and brushed her golden locks, she stared into the mirror, cerulean eyes stared back. She didn't know anything about her birth mother, all she knew of her was that she was dead. Her father was a different story when she was little she had asked for her father one time. She remembered her nana just shook her head and avoided the question. 

Setting the brush down, she headed for bed.

The next day Lily woke up to a note on her desk, stretching her arms and rubbing the sleep out her eyes, she reads it.

' Happy birthday Lily, I had to visit my friend in castle town, she's awfully ill and I've just gone out to find some herbs for her. Nana'.

Lily read the letter, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She wondered what time her nana would be home, and if she needed any help. Climbing out of bed she changed out of her nightwear and into new clothes.

If she remembered correctly, Her birthdays were usually celebrated indoors, or an occasional trip around the west wing of town to see the fireworks.

Heading downstairs, she looks down at her feet noticing she forgot to tie her shoes. Tieing her shoes quickly, she heads to the kitchen. She thought about writing a note before she left, not wanting to leave her poor nana worrying where she was. 

Grabbing a piece of paper and a stray pen, she thought about what to write.

' I'm going to head out this morning for my birthday, I won't be out too late!'

Lily looked at the letter squinting her eyes. Good enough I guess.

She set the note on the counter, taking note to look at the oven and making sure there weren't any pastries cooking. Lily headed out of the house and took a look around.  
She thought to visit one of her friends in the main square, but it would be too early. Where should I go first?

To go out in the fields and explore on her own would be ludicrous, but she was feeling rather adventurous, after all, it was her eighteenth birthday. She had always wanted to see what was beyond Hyrule ever since she was a child, and here she was, finally ready to face her fear.

Making her way to the north gates of the town, she spotted to guards, one standing to the left and one to the right.

Taking small steps she walked into view of one of the guards. Okay, act normal and maybe they won't arrest you on site.

Clearing her throat she decided to greet them. "Hello there! a nice day isn't it?"

One of the guards noticed her, turning to her he spoke.

"Yes, the weather's nice. Can we help you miss?"

Lily thought about what she was going to say, surely she could come up with a reason."You see, I'm a merchant from here. My uncle lives on a ranch not too far from here, I need to get there immediately before he scolds me."

The guard on the left gave her a suspicious look but said nothing.

"A merchant you say. Well, we can let you through, but I advise that you be careful out there. There's been a recent influx of patrolling monsters, we don't know yet where they come from." He looked to the left guard and nodded, signaling to open the gate.

"If you're planning on staying there, I would stay the night and then wander in the day time. Good luck out there miss." The guard said.

Well, if she wasn't doubtful already, then that just took the cake.

"I'll take all the precautionary needs, thank you!." Lily said.

Well, here goes nothing.


	2. Curiosity killed the cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily finds herself in the home of a certain Wind demon.

A wide vast land spilled out before her, trees dotted the lands in various patterns. She wished she would've done this much sooner, her nana had told her stories of Hyrule, and places beyond it, like Castor wilds, Zora domain and the like.

She kneeled down and stared at a particular flower, looking at its beautiful blue petals. It reminded her of the flowers her Nana said her mother used to always have, she looked down at her necklace, the strange symbol of a triangle, she vaguely remembered what it was.

Laying down on the soft grass, and the gentle breeze of the wind rustling around her. She closed her eyes, thinking of all the places she would visit next.

Suddenly she heard a voice talking somewhere in the distance, Lily opened her eyes, she didn't recall seeing anyone in the fields...

Lily sat up and pinpointed where the voice was coming from. In the distance, she saw a figure in purple and a weird looking round creature with bat wings.

"What in the world is that?", Lily whispered in utter fascination and shock.

Quickly she hid behind a tree to get a closer look, it looked like to be a person wearing a purple-bluish cape, they had long lavender hair, Lily couldn't quite tell if they were a man or woman, but what she knew was that there was something absolutely wrong about the situation she was in.

Then, out of her worst luck, the weird-looking bat creature looks spots her and looks directly at her. Lily's heart almost stopped beating,

Oh, goddess, it spots me, what do I do? Lily thought but then mentally slapped herself, There's no way I'm getting out of this Lily, whatever the hell that bat thing or this strange guy is!

Lily then felt her feet, quite literally, lift from the ground and slowly levitated to where they were.

The man in purple snapped his fingers and Lily fell to the ground, she looked up to see red eyes glowering down at her.

"Well? explain yourself." 

Lily was speechless, Is this actually happening? Slowly she got up and faced the purple man.

" I- ah well..." Lily didn't really know what to say, what could she say? She had no clue who this strange person was nor his weird bat friend!

The purple man raised a suspicious elegant eyebrow, "You didn't happen to hear our conversation...did you?'' 

At this point Lily was confused, she was just an innocent bystander for goddess' sake!

"No! I didn't hear anything! I- I'm just a merchant." Lily explained. 

The purple man looked at the bat thing as if they were telepathically communicating.

The purple man spoke, " Where are my manners, my name is Vaati, and I must say this is awful bad timing on your part, as I leave no witness alive."

Lily's eyes widened, she heard of that name before.

He spoke again, " but it would be unfortunate to have your life snatched away so early, I won't kill you." Lily sighed in relief, "instead I will simply take you away from this wretched kingdom" he said.

Lily's heart sank. Of course, there's a catch! Lily thought bitterly.

Vaati, let out a cackle that sounded like a madman, "Of course, you will have to leave everything behind, these are my conditions dear." 

All a sudden the wind around them started to pick up, making a strong gust form around them. Lily looked around in silent terror as the familiar feeling of weightlessness set in.

The last thing she saw was before passing out from shock was Vaati's grinning face, then everything went dark...

Lily woke up with a splitting headache, " Where am I?'' 

She sat up slowly, trying to recollect her thoughts.

She sees Vaati in the distance, casually brushing himself off. Lily stood up, still a bit light-headed. Vaati walks towards her, striding like an arrogant bastard that she'd love to punch.

"Now, I believe I didn't get your name?'' Vaati says, his arms crossed over his chest, his head cocked to the side waiting for an answer. Lily stood there, trying to find her voice.

"My name's Lily, y-you're the wind sorcerer that I've read about aren't you?'' She tried to keep her voice from shaking.

Vaati's expression turns from calm to serious, he slowly starts to approaches her. Lily falters a bit and takes a small step back, he's an arm's length away from her.

" Yes I am, that's why I can't risk letting you go, I refuse to be sealed inside that blasted sword again." He says, his countenance changing from serious to annoyed. He then grabbed her wrist and started heading towards a giant hall.

Lily's mouth is practically open as she stared at the surroundings, a beautifully architected palace. 

Lily looked at him like he grew three heads, was he serious? She will absolutely not refer to him as 'Lord Vaati'!

He seemed to read her expression and chuckled.

'' Get used to it my dear, for you'll be here for quite some time.'' With that, he snapped his fingers and she was soon met with weightlessness again.

"Now, shall we give you a little tour of the palace?'' The mage said. 

The palace seemed to stretch on forever, and so did Lord Vaati's speech.

"Enjoying the view, are we? if I were you I'd best stay away from the cliffs, one simple gust of wind and it'll send you plummeting right to you're death." Vaati stated.

At this point, they were standing on a spiral staircase of sorts, one that had no railing... Lily shivered, She wouldn't be surprised if he were the one that pushed her off a cliff.

He took them to a huge room, it had giant doors that looked like it was built for a giant.

"Is this where I'm staying?"

Lily asked.

Lily slowly walk into the giant room, taking in all of the intricate details of the huge canopy bed, It's large maroon covers gently sweeping the floor from the light breeze in the large hallway they stood.

"Well, if you're all settled, I'll be taking my leave for now".

"My sentry will come to collect you for dinner tonight, be a good girl and don't kill the dammed thing", He adds, and with that, he's gone.

Lily slowly approached the bed and jump on it, feeling the softness of the expensive fabric beneath Her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily tries to adapt to her new home.

Somewhere in the Palace of Winds...

“What are you fool's doing?!”

Vaati's voice could practically be heard from miles away. In the distance, two armos could be seen, they appeared to be bumping into each other. Muffled grunts could be heard as their stone bodies clashes with one another, and they appear to be fighting?

Vaati was just about two seconds away from just blasting the two armos into pieces, he was slowly getting at his wits end with some of these creatures. Upon hearing his voice, the two armos instantly stopped what they were doing and jumped back to their original places.

Vaati stared at them with slits.

“You two are off duty here, and as for the childish foolery you just displayed here, you two are not allowed to leave your positions here.” With that, he huffs and walks off in the direction of the kitchen.

In the kitchen, there was a lovely smell of an arrangement of different foods. Who makes the food? Monsters.

Yes, that's right, monsters.

There were huge pots and pans hanging from the ceiling, two darknuts could be seen pinching the right amount of salt and spice into a pot of steaming stew. One Keese flew by overhead, accidentally knocking into one of the darknuts helmets.

Immediately it reacted and pushed the other darknut over. It got back up, wiped itself off, then took the bottle of salt, and poured the entire bottle down the other darknuts helmet.

It cried out and stumbled backward, reaching for whatever bottle it could find to throw at the other darknut.

Then the wide doors were suddenly thrown open, and in came a very displeased Vaati.

What the hell was that sound? Vaati could practically feel his patience running at an all-time low with these...these clueless idiots!

The mage rushed to the source of the sound... to find a complete mess in the kitchen...and two darknuts fighting over... food? The two darknuts looked from him to each other, then wildly began pointing at each other over who started it. He could feel his eyes rolling to the back of his skull, that's the last time he leaves darknuts to get the damn job right. Then he notices a dozen keese flying overhead, in the kitchen?!

“Enough, that's it, you two would make better stone decorations than do a simple job that you're asked to do.” Vaati looked up and see the keese flying and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I'll deal with you two later, as for now.” He sees a wizzrobe nearby daftly stealing a piece of bread, he points to it.

“You! You will get rid of every last one of these keese!”

On the other side of the palace

“This dress looks horrible...”

Lily looked in the mirror, looking at the gaudy fabric and frills. Is there anything in here that doesn't look tacky?

She huffed, taking off the dress, and looking into the wide arrange of dresses and gowns. She then picked out a bright red dress, no, too red. Then out came a frilly dress, one that looked as if it was made centuries ago, not that one either.

Lily finally, sees what looks to be a simple white and lavender dress, it had a matching shawl that went with it. Perfect.

Lily looked in the mirror to see her reflection. She's got to admit, the dress looked beautiful. Simple yet elegant. Then, she sees something black in the mirror behind her. She quickly turned around and yelped when she sees it's the weird eyeball thing Lord Vaati calls, 'sentry'.

“Lord Vaati requests your presence in the dining hall, please follow me.”

Lily stared at the thing. How does it talk? Ugh never mind, a lot of things don't make any to her here.

She follows it out of the room. Staring at her surroundings and taking in the view, they must be at least a few thousand feet off the surface, how was she still walking and not dead from the altitude? Beats her. As they walk further into the palace, Lily noticed a bunch of strange-looking monsters that she's never seen before. These must be some creatures that one guard warned her about, never mind that, She's actually living with them now!

They finally made it to the dining hall, and Lily sees a long table that had many seats, and on the very end of the seat, there's Vaati.

Looking ready to blow a fuse any minute.

“Ah, Lily, have a seat, you're just in time.”

Lily heard him say as she took a seat at the other end of the table. Just as she took a seat, a door slammed open, and out of it, monsters were carrying food. Lily silently watches them as they gently as possible set all the plates with food down. Lily cleared her throat.

“This is an awful lot of food for two people, right Lord Vaati?”.

Vaati sets his glass of wine down, an amused chuckle escapes from his lips.

“Of course not, did you honestly think I would let all this food go to waste? No, my dear girl, these monsters are going to join us.” He sips his wine, watching as her jaw practically hits the floor.

He can't be serious?

Oh, but he was indeed right, his 'servants' sat down and began picking their plates.

Vaati then stands up, his drink in his right hand and lifted, “Shall we all make a toast to our new and lovely guest?”.

Then on cue, all of them clinked their glasses together, some able to make a successful toast, others glasses shattered at the forceful impact.

Lily looked at the plate in front of her, expecting to see an unappetizing mess, it surprisingly looked gourmet.

Then she looked up at his 'servants', they were all cutting away at their food. Some using tableware and gracefully sipping teacups, practically with their pinkies out, well, those that had pinkies anyway.

She half expected them all to just claw away at their foods ravenously. Lily wouldn't lie to say she was a little amused by all this despite the predicament she was in. As she finished her food, she took a sip of the wine, Lily nearly drop the glass as she heard two plates crash together.

She looked up to see a rather comical scenario. A tall helmed creature was holding a plate of chocolate cake and on the other end a smaller creature holding onto the plate for dear life.

Lily nearly spit out the drink as she watched the scene in front of her, Vaati, on the other hand, did not seem amused at all.

His eye twitched and a small thin-lipped smile formed on his face.

“Whoever is closest to the plate, gets it, no exceptions.”, he said, his head cocked to the side watching them.

Finally, the helmed creature gave a final hard tug, and with a triumph 'hmph', got the piece of cake. The smaller creature, however, stumbled forward and fell face-first into a bowl of stew.

A small silence followed after, followed by a chorus of laughter that fills the room. Lily had to bite her lip in an attempt to hide her amusement but failed, as she too, gave in and laughed.

“Silence!”

All laughter was instantly gone in the room, there was a pregnant pause. Vaati stood up, gripping the edges of the table.

“All of you, dinner is over, clean up everything and get back to your positions.”

Every monster in the room quickly grabbed all the plates and tableware and hurried out the hall. Lily took this as her chance to hurry out of there and leave the area. She picked up her skirts and ran as far as she could until she ran out of breath of course.

Lily stopped behind a pillar to catch her breath, sliding to the ground, that was a close one. As soon as she caught her breath, Lily slowly stood up. She appeared to be in the courtyard, She stepped on the grass, looking at the giant moon that hung overhead.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily finds herself negotiating her circumstance with the wind demon.

Lily stared at her surroundings in awe, she had blindly run in a random direction and now she was lost. Lily slowly walked onto the grass and observed the area, all around her, there were these strange stone statues of people, men, and women. They all seemed to have realistic expressions on their faces. Some of them appear to be guards, some looked to be of high status, and others looked like some hand ladies.

Who are these people? Lily put her hand against a statue, feeling the cold stone beneath her skin, a gentle breeze blowing the fabrics of her dress.

"Out of all places, you ended up here."

Lily jumped as she heard the voice behind her. She turned around to see Vaati casually leaning against a column, staring at his nails, he sighs." But I must say, you are quite lucky your running didn't lead you slipping off some unknown cliff somewhere,'' he says, an amused smile forming on his lips.

Lily frowned, taking a step away from the statue. "How did you find me?" Vaati gave a small chuckle, "pure instincts dear".

Lily could feel herself becoming increasingly agitated, this bastard was going to give her some answers! Lily stood her ground. "What are these statues?''. Stupid question Lily, stupid question.

Vaati, without looking at her, slowly walked up to the nearest statue, observing them. "Realistic, are they? These are my prize collections, they're nothing more than mere statues," he says, looking up at the statues. There was still something quite off with the word, 'collections', Lily chose to not pry for now.

Vaati then turn to her, "I believe it's getting late, I will have my sentry lead you back to your room." He then snaps his fingers and his sentry appears right next to him. "Take this girl to her room." The sentry blinks, "Yes Lord Vaati".

Vaati then turns to Lily, "As for you, I advise you not to go blindly running off again." He says, before Lily could really react, he disappears in a flurry of wind.

She follows the 'sentry' to her room, her first day in this stupid floating palace and she gets lost. Lily lets out a bitter laugh, the sentry seemed to notice though. "Is there something that amuses you Lady Lily?'' it asks. She huffs, "oh, nothing funny at all."

Lily entered it to the room, shutting the huge doors closed. Well, at least it was quiet here, for now. She walked over to one of the huge windows, gazing out at the night sky. So this was her new 'home' huh? If only she didn't go out into the fields... but, if she didn't, who knows what he would've done to Hyrule if she didn't 'interrupt his plans?

Lily quietly change from the dress and into a nightgown. Pulling back the satin covers and sliding into the comfy large bed,

She drifts asleep...

What was he going to do with that girl? Vaati stood up from his throne, slowly pacing.

His plans were interfered with by a lowly girl! If his sentry didn't spot her on time, she would have informed the king of Hyrule of my presence. Patience now, his plans may have interfered, but not for long, she may be of use to him. "Eh, Lord Vaati?", a wizzrobe pops up unannounced.

"Speak"

It clears its throat, "The gathering hoards of monsters you send below are being killed by the Hylian forces."

Vaati pinched the bridges of his nose," send an armed patrol next time, at this rate I'm sending brainless zombies into battle."

The wizzrobe shuffles nervously. "Shall I awake the Lady for you my Lord?.''

Oh yes, we wouldn't want the poor dear to oversleep. Vaati stood up, waving the wizzrobe off, "Yes, awaken her, and please do tell her that we have certain matters to discuss, that is all, you may go."

He watched as the wizzrobe floats off in the distance, a smirk forming on his face, Let's see where this will go...

Meanwhile, in Lily's room There was a loud noise that awoke Lily with a start. Lily grumbled, immediately searching for the trumpet noise.

Then in front of her bed, she sees a weird looking creature. A robed creature that was clothed in purple and had a funny hat.

"Oh! You're awake. Glad to see you still alive so far!", it said, Lily just stared at it, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she gets up and observes the wizard creature.

It frantically puts a plate down on her table, which consisted of apple oatmeal and orange juice. "I scavenged some food from the kitchens, I know how you humans get so hungry in the morning, breakfast is the important meal of the day they say!~"

It then turns around and sticks out a hand, "My apologies Ma'am, you can call me Robbie."

Lily gives a small smile and a curtsy, "A pleasure to meet you, Robbie." Lily shakes his hand, Robbie nervously laughs, then turns serious.

"Lord Vaati has also requested your presence in the throne room, I will be waiting outside the door once you finish all your morning necessities." He does a small bow, then floats to the door and closes it behind him.

Lily eats her small breakfast and sets the plate on the table. She peaks into the ornate washroom. It was a bathroom fit for a Queen, she sits on the edge of a bathtub, more like a small pool.

Deciding to draw a bath she turns the nob of the golden ornate knobs. When the water was warm, she looked at the shelf and saw an arrangement of bottles, she had no idea what was in them but decided to pick a random bottle and smell it, it smelled like Jasmine, she poured it in the pool.

She watches in delight as the bubbles began to foam and froth. Stepping into the pool and sinking into the fragrant waters, the warmth from the water and the cool breeze from the window making her feel at ease, if only for a moment. After bathing, Lily steps out of the pool and grabs a towel, and dries herself off.

Stepping onto the cool floors of her room she sits over at her vanity, drying her damp hair and brushing her messy locks. After she's done she heads toward the wardrobe and slips on a simple gown. Looking at herself in the mirror, she sighs.

Putting on the falsest of smiles she heads out the door, where she is met by Robbie again. "Now that you're all ready, please follow me." He says, Lily, follows in pursuit.

They made their way through the palace interior and made their way to the main level where the throne room was. Vaati was perched on the throne seat, ordering a group of monsters. When he saw Lily, he falsely smiled and stood. "I trust you had a good night's rest yes?" he says nicely, almost too nice for him.

Lily then managed a fake nice tone of her own, straightening her soldiers. "Oh I just had the most lovely sleep ever, thank you for asking." Lily smiles, Ha, he won't get the best of me.

Vaati lets out a half-hearted chuckle, amused by her obvious sarcasm. He walks down the steps and stops at the foot of them. "I believe you know why I called you here, I want to discuss just exactly why I captured you," he says, looking Lily in the eye.

Lily's heart beat in anticipation, would he let her go? No, that's too soon.

"I captured you in the result of you foiling my plans to invade Hyrule, so tell me, why were you really in Hyrule fields at the same time as me?" He says, waiting for her response. Lily froze, how was she supposed to answer that? She then had an idea.

She stepped forward, putting her hands to her chest. "Please, I'm just an innocent bystander who just happened to be there at the wrong place at the wrong time! I wanted to be free of the lonely and secluded life that I was burdened with! So In the moment of pure curiosity and naivety, I fled from my peaceful home and into the fields! Unknowing that I would be graced with your presence." Lily fell forward, her head bowing towards him. "Please, I knew nothing of your horrendous plans to overtake Hyrule, I truly know nothing." While on the ground on her knees, Lily had to bite her lip from laughing.

She's totally dead for doing this.

Vaati put a hand to his chin, taking in her dramatic speech. "Rise, you poor, brave soul." He says, a mocking tone evident in his voice.

Lily looks up, to see Vaati's amused grin and outstretched hand. She gingerly takes it and stands up, facing him. "I must say, you are smarter than most dear. Brave, in fact, I'm almost entirely moved by your ambitious endeavors,'' he says, circling her, observing her.

Lily watched him carefully, curious about what he was going to say next. He then stops in front of her. "You may have been in the way of my plans, but as you said, you're just an innocent bystander after all," he says, watching her expressions. Lily already knew what his answer was, he was not going to let her go.

Well, at least she tried.

Then a thought suddenly came to her. She stepped forward, looking him right in the eye. "If I can't return to the surface, then can I write a letter to my caretaker, telling her that I'm okay, so she won't be worried at least?" Lily says, rather pleads. Vaati regards her for a moment before answering. "We will see."

Lily's eyebrows furrowed up, What? What does he mean 'we will see?'.

Before Lily can say anything, Vaati laughed. "Oh Lily dear, that expression does not suit you. We wouldn't want that pretty face of yours getting all wrinkled hmm?"

She wanted to push him off a cliff. He then straightens, his countenance changing from amused to serious.

"Come, a good host always invites their guest for good company, let's take a walk." He says, grabbing Lily's wrist and pulling her along.


	5. Chapter 5

Somewhere in the vast corridors of the Palace of winds. A certain purple clothed wizzrobe could be seen floating about, a whistle echoed through the halls. Robbie was happily whistling to himself, passing by a room and seeing something fly in his peripheral vision. Ah, must be nothing.

Suddenly there's a loud crash. Robbie does a double-take, peaking into the room. There he sees a dozen keese, flying overhead. Robbie shakes his head and sighs, “The keese again... Lord Vaati will most certainly not be pleased with this.”

“Bastard!”

Lily flops on top of the massive bed. Tears welled up in her eyes, he was most definitely toying with her. She somehow felt even worse after their, 'talk'.

Laying on her bed, trying to tune everything out, she hears a knock on her door.

A certain wizzrobe peaks in, “Ah, there you are, are you hungry? I brought you a delightful afternoon snack~” He says.

Lily doesn't look up, she didn't feel like moving, better yet eating.

Robbie nervously laughs, setting the plate on her bedstand.

“I just saw you running to your room a little while ago, you looked distraught,'' he says, twiddling his fingers.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes, not wanting to be reminded of what happened earlier.

“It's him.”

Robbie shifts a little, curiosity peaks in his single glowing eye.

“I just want to go home, I never asked for any of this,” Lily eventually says.

Robbie regards the sulking girl, not knowing what to say. “Well, when the master gets upset by the other monsters, chaos tends to erupt, and you see when chaos erupts, I just sing myself a little song and tune everything out!~”, he says, his hands clasped together.

Lily let out a small bitter laugh. If only it were that easy.

Robbie nervously laughs, “Not to worry, If you need anything don't hesitate to ask.”

Then with that, he quickly hurried out of the room.

Somewhere in the great skies, a giant winged eyeball soars through the sky... Floating through the skies, a giant monstrosity with wings flew through the air. Gazing down below, Vaati was above his perfect target. Down below was Hyrule castle town and all of its inhabitants.

' It would be so easy to take them by surprise and overthrow the entire kingdom...' He mused. 

The thing is, he could just waltz into the castle any minute and kill the king. The king's wife, Queen Zelda, had died giving birth to their baby. That just meant he had one less person to destroy. But no, Vaati was a patient man, he would wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. He hovered over Hyrule Castle, transforming to his Hylian form.

He outstretched his palms, controlling the clouds and forming a supercell. Yes, patience is of virtue.

Dark clouds surrounded Hyrule in minutes. Pouring out massive amounts of rain and thunder.

Pleased with this, Vaati let out a maniacal laugh. Transforming back into his monstrous form, he flew back into the heavens.

He could wait just a little longer...

“Oh but Lady Lily, you must. I insist!”

Robbie was seen pushing Lily outside her room. 

“I know you humans think rain is gloomy weather for the sad, but I find rain can soothe even the saddest spirits” Robbie gleefully cheered.

Robbie practically dragged Lily out of her room, where they had made their way to the main entrance. Thunder could be heard clapping in the distance.

“I've never seen this much rain before...” Lily said, staring wide-eyed. In the distance, the rain was falling at a rapid rate from the sky. Thunder could be heard from a mile away, making Lily shudder.

Robbie looked at the violent storm, before shaking his head.

“Oh no, it must be him again,” Robbie said.

Lily was about to ask who 'he' was Until she heard a loud flapping noise coming from the outside base. There she saw a huge winged monster, which resembled a bigger version of the eyeball sentry.

She watched as it transformed into a human figure, turning out to be Vaati himself.

Great, just great.

Robbie looked up from twiddling his thumbs. He sees Vaati slowly making his way inside.

“Ah! Lord Vaati, you returned home quite smoothly.” Robbie says.

Vaati's hair was slightly damp, his cape blowing in the wind. He hardly looked wet at all, considering that he was in the heavy rain. He stopped in front of them, nonchalantly brushing off his tunic.

“I see you've been acquainted with our guest,” Vaati says.

Robbie shifts nervously, before speaking. “Yes, I was just persuading her out of the room, as they say, those who sulk about shall achieve nothing!”.

Vaati smirks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh? Is that so? Well, it's very nice of you to do that, but I'm afraid you have work to do as of right now.”

'' Ah, yes Lord Vaati, I have still had many duties to perform today!”, Robbie says before floating off.

Lily turned to face him.

“I've decided to put what you said earlier into consideration,” Vaati says.

Lily's heart skipped a little as he continues.

He sighs, staring up at the ceiling casually.

“Yes, your dramatic plea yesterday. I've decided, you may write a note and I'll have a sentry send it down below.” He says.

Lily didn't know what to say at first. Should she thank him? Out of all her time she's been here against her will, she surely thought she would never have the chance accepted.

He's being too nice.

“I — thank you.” She responded.

Vaati snaps his fingers and a sentry appears beside him.

“Will you please take Lily to her room. You are to carry a note down to her home.” Vaati says, with that, he turns around and walks off. “Oh, and be careful what you write dear. Any plans for exposing me will be met with critical consequences.” He adds before walking away.

Lily stares at the ground. Critical consequences?

“ Please follow me.'' The sentry blinked.

Its voice snapped Lily out of her chance, slowly she followed it to her room.

Once they made it to her room, Lily jumped on the big canopy bed. Feeling the soft fabric underneath her.

What was she going to do? She hadn't even thought of telling the whole kingdom about Vaati. All she wanted to do was write to her caretaker, that she was okay.

Lily sighed, deciding to overthink later, right now, she had a letter to write.

Dear Nana

It's me, Lily. It's been at least two days since I left home.

I decided to leave home and explore the world, I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay. Leaving home has allowed me to see things that I've never seen before. Experiences that I've never experienced, and I still have so many things to learn about the world. I've even seen a few (Zora)! I can tell you I am much happy where I am right now. Thank you so much for taking care of me, I will never be any more grateful that I had such a loving Nana. Please don't worry about me, I'm in safe hands.

Your stepdaughter, Lily.

Lily wiped her eyes as she finished the letter. Slowly getting up, she looked to where the Sentry was floating.

“Please take this to my home in Castle town.”

She tied a string around the letter, letting it dangle from its claw. With a nod, It flew out the nearest window, soaring through the sky before disappearing below the clouds.

Lily walked over to the large window, gazing at the dark floating rain clouds. Watching as the sunset behind the clouds, the rain continued to fall from the sky. It was funny almost, It's like the sky was a representative of how she felt inside.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily gets well acquainted with the floating palace.

As nightfall falls over the palace, shrouding its marble walls with shadows and moonlight. Lightning could be heard cracking and lighting up the skies, rain splashing on the cold marble floors of the outside. It seemed as if time slowed at the Palace of Winds, well, at least for Lily.

“What to do now?''

Lily sighed, Laying back on the massive bed. She felt bad for lying of course, but what else could she do? Say that she got captured by a forgotten sorcerer? Of course not.

There were flapping noises next to her suddenly. Sitting up from where she lay, Lily sees the sentry floating at the foot of the bed.

“I have delivered your letter.”

Great, care to tell me something she didn't know?

The sentry's eye blinks, it continues.

“That is all, I shall inform Lord Vaati.” It says.

She slowly put her head down and nodded. 

“Thank you for telling me,” She muttered, pulling her knees to her chest.

The sentry blinked before gently dipping and flying out of my room.

Well, it could be worse. Vaati could've decided to be a jerk and not have let her send a letter, and well, things could've been much worse.

Speaking of Vaati... Lily bet he was plotting what to do with her next...

“Master?”

A sentry could be seen floating, having made its way to the throne room. Vaati was seen talking into a bubble, inside the bubble was where he could see what the monster hordes were doing.

“No, not that way, to the left you fool.” The mage said in a bored tone.

The sentry blinked, Unsure of what to do.

“Master?” It tried again.

This time, a clearly frustrated Vaati looked up from the bubble.

“What is it?”

The sentry blinked and continued.

“I have delivered Lily's letter.”

Vaati raised an eyebrow, curiosity struck on his features. “Oh? Please do continue.”

“I informed her that the letter has been delivered .” It said.

Vaati, let out a humorless chuckle. “Good, that should ease her poor sensitive soul.” He says sarcastically.

“Oh but her soul is indeed very sensitive!” A voice could be heard nearby.

A yellow clothed female wizzrobe appeared. Taking a moment to bow before continuing. “Have you not seen the poor thing lately? Sulking about and practically a ghost!”

Vaati, listening to her words, sighed to himself. Leave it to the wizzrobes to always interfere.

“Lena, I didn't need your input.”

“I have been watching her very closely my Lord. I must say the girl is very strong-willed!” She laughs.

Meanwhile, Hiding behind a column, a certain purple robbed wizzrobes listens in on their conversation. Robbie had been wandering the halls, looking for any bothersome leftover keese to get rid of when he had heard the mention of Lily's name.

“What are you doing Robbie?” A voice said behind him.

“Gah!”

Behind him, Lily stood there, her head tilted curiously.

“Oh, Lily, It's you. You gave me quite the scare.” Robbie laughed nervously. Lily smiled awkwardly, putting her hand behind her head. “Sorry about that.”

Robbie looked down, then up, twiddling his thumbs.

“What has brought you out of your room Lady Lily?” He asks. Lily shifted to the side, her gaze wandering to where he was currently watching.

“I decided to walk around the palace on my own. But then I heard someone talking about me, didn't know I was that popular around here.''

That's right, apparently, there were others she didn't know about. Slowly peaking behind the column where Robbie was, she quietly observed the scene.

“Enough, I heard enough of this,” Vaati said, pinching the bridge of his nose. They had been going back and forth over Lily for over twenty minutes, and frankly, Vaati was getting quite sick of it. Lena huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well, master. I believe I must retire from my duties for tonight, good night.”

With that, she floats off. Leaving a wide-eyed sentry and a very tired looking Vaati.

“You may go, I think that's enough foolishness for one night,” Vaati says. The sentry blinks then bows forward and flies off. Yes, speaking of which, where has that girl ran off to?

“Keep quiet Robbie, he'll hear us.”

Lily and Robbie were peaking behind the column, watching as the female wizzrobe floated away.

“I wonder who that was?'' Lily says.

“Oh dear, That was Lena, she's always causing a scene of some sort,” Robbie replied.

Lily peaks further down, not wanting to get seen. “Oh really? I've never seen her around here before."

Robbie lets out a nervous laugh. “Yes well, she is the one who controls the wizzrobes from down below. I am the one who looks after up here.” He says. Lily nodded, watching Vaati look into a bubble formed in his hand.

What is that?

She was then interrupted by Robbie pulling on her sleeve. “We must go now, hurry if Lord Vaati sees us were in bi-” He stops.

“What, where did he go?” Lily froze.

“Ah, there you are Lily.”

Both Lily and Robbie froze as they hear a voice behind them. Vaati stood there smugly against a column.

She slowly got up from where she was and turned around.

“Ah! Lord Vaati! What a pleasant surprise to see you here.” Robbie said, clearly not expecting him.

“You two should find a better hiding spot next time. I could hear you both from a mile away.” Replies an unenthusiastic mag

Lily scowled.

“I simply heard my name, that's all.” She responded.

Vaati rolls his eyes. This girl and her endless plethora of excuses.

“No one hides in this palace without me knowing. Now, off to bed with you.” He says.

He then looks at Robbie. “Take this girl to her room.”

“Yes my Lord!''

“That was a close call! If my master had been in his moods, he surely would have had our heads!”.

“Oh, hush, who cares what he does anyway.” Lily tiredly responds.

Lily, in her nightgown. Jumps on her bed, staring up at the tall ceiling. As she dozed off, she couldn't help but think about think of those strange statues she saw in the courtyard. Did Vaati... Do something to them?

“Lily? Oh dear, daydreaming again?” Lily looked up from where she was laying, forgetting that Robbie was there.

“It's nothing.” She didn't want to talk about him.

“Ah well, goodnight Lady Lily. I will be here in the morning to wake you up!” He says gleefully. He floats off and closes the doors behind.

Lily drifts off to a cautious sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily demands to see a fight between two sorcerers.

It was a rather windy day at the Palace of winds. A breeze could be felt flowing through the halls. Various monsters were roaming about, some patrolling the area, some just wondering about. In the throne room, Vaati had a bubble in his hand.

"Lord Vaati, you do realize your silly horde of monsters pale in comparison to mine?". On the other side of the bubble, a wizzrobe in gaudy robes spoke. In the background, Hyrule field could be seen.

Vaati, let out a snort. "Listen to yourself talk, you old bat. Your army of monsters has never bested mine."

The old wizzrobe lets out a chuckle, shaking its head." If that's so, come down for a little play fight among monsters. Surely you would accept?"

Before Vaati could reply, a female voice interrupted them. "Actually, before you go. How about we have a battle? Just me and you. An old fight to the fittest." Lena's voice was heard.

Vaati smirked. Ha, a one-sided battle it will be. "Challenge accepted, I will be there before sunset."

With that, he made the bubble disappear within his hands. He chuckled to himself and sat back on this throne chair. A battle huh?

A keese suddenly flies overhead, knocking over a pot in the process. An annoyed scowl crosses his features, not pleased by the presence of keese.

A blast was heard and the keese was seen laying burned to a crisp on the floor.

Lily could feel a gentle breeze blowing her covers, blowing through her hair, and finally waking her up. She fluttered her eyes open, seeing a flash of purple robes.

Robbie? She sits up to see Robbie opening the windows, humming a soft tune to himself. "Ah, your awake~", He says. Setting a plate of breakfast on the nearest table, Robbie stops in his tracks.

"Oh my, I have a meeting with my master! I must get going at once." He does a curt bow and then floats out of the room. Lily raised a brow at his sudden departure. 

Stretching her legs, she looks at the dresser where her necklace lay. She had kept it with her since the day she was captured. Suddenly, she sees movement near the door. A small creature peak it's head inside her room.

It waddled on its feet over to where the dresser was. It hops up and grabs her necklace within its tiny paws and waddles off out of the room.

Lily looks after it dumbfounded. "H-hey wait!''.

She sprinted after the creature, sliding between the two large doors. There she spots the creature waddling on its two little legs. Ah hah, where do you think you're going?

It turns around and squeaks when it sees a crazed girl running after it. It wobbles faster through the halls. All around them, monsters watch stop what they were doing and surveyed the scene curiously. From a distance, two wizzrobes were seen talking and watching the scene before them.

"Look, it's that girl. Tsk, running about in that nightgown of hers is highly unfathomable."

"Say? What's she doing out of her room so early? The girl can sleep like a ton of bricks. If this palace were to fall right from the sky, she wouldn't even notice!"

The two wizzrobes laugh and snicker, Enjoying the scene before them.

"Wait. I've never actually seen that small creature around here before."

Lily chased the creature all the way outside, stopping to take a look at her surroundings. A garden? Walking slowly, Lily searched for the little creature. Behind a particular bush, a brown and white head peaked behind. "Gotcha".

She made her way over to the bush and grabbed the creature. "Squeee"

It dropped her necklace on the ground. "Please don't eat me!" Lily paused, It talks? She gently sets down the creature and kneels down to observe it.

"That necklace you have, it looked so shiny! I didn't know it was yours, miss!" It squeaks. Huh? This creature is kinda adorable. Lily smiles a little. The creature had tiny beady eyes and a round furry body with a short tail. "Alright, I won't eat you their buddy. Do you have a name?"

It shuffles its feet as if wondering what to say. "Well, you can call me Pippin."

Suddenly there was a voice that was heard nearby, it sounded like it was coming from a crack between the stone wall. Lily froze, That sound like Robbie...and Vaati?

She quickly grabs her necklace and picks up Pippin. Squatting down behind a bush right above the crack, she listens in on their conversation.

"That foolish hag thinks he can best my army of monsters."

"Gilard has always been rather competitive, has he? haha"

"That she-witch also wants a battle. Pah! What a fool she is."

"Oh my, Lena has been quite bold lately..."

Lily, presses her ear against the cold stone wall. Trying to hear the rest of the conversation. She soon hears their footsteps fade and disappear within the palace.

Leaning against the wall, she looks down at her new friend. "A fight? Between Lena and Vaati? Oh, I have to see that!"

Making her way into the palace with Pippin in her arms, she searched to find Robbie. "So Pippin, you don't look like one of Vaati's monsters. How'd you end up here?", Lily asks.

Pippin makes a purring sound. "I was scavenging for things to find...well and then I took your necklace. My kind comes from the surface."

Lily finds Robbie in the distance near the throne room. Smiling triumphantly she makes her way towards him. "Robbie?"

With a slight yelp, Robbie turns around, his shoulders automatically relaxing when he sees It's her. "Lady Lily? My goodness, you're still in your nightwear. Oh, and what is this?"

Lily glances at Pippin in her arms. "Oh, I just found this little guy in the garden. Isn't it adorable? Anyway that's not what I'm here for. I overheard your conversation with Vaati."

Robbie's single glowing eye widened. He lets out a nervous laugh. "Oh my hehe, we were talking about such trivial things."

Lily rolled her eyes, gazing past Robbie and into the throne room. "Yes Robbie, while I was in the garden I heard you and Vaati talking about a battle, him and that Lena."

Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew around them. Lily held on to Pippin while Robbie grabbed onto the walls for support. Before them, Vaati stood.

"What you heard was correct dear. There will indeed be a fight, it will occur this evening."

"M-my Lord." Robbie stutters.

Vaati walks towards them, raising an elegant eyebrow at the small creature in Lily's arms. "And what relevance, exactly, is that to you," he says, crossing his arms.

"Well, how could I possibly miss the perfect opportunity to see the greatest sorcerer of all time, fighting in action?" Lily retorted.

There was a pregnant pause in the air, besides the sound of the wind whistling through the hall they stood in. "Why should I let you, a stubborn girl with a death wish, outside in a battleground with hundreds of wild monsters just waiting to taste human flesh. Surely you have more sense than that."

Lily wanted to laugh, stubborn am I?

"I may be stubborn, Lord Vaati, but I'm not dumb. Though those terrible wild monsters may want my flesh, I have you to protect me from them," she says.

Again, another awkward silence fills the air. Vaati regards her words with slight amusement in his eyes. Robbie, at the far left, looking nervous as ever and biting his nonexistent nails.

"Ah, a girl of quick wit indeed. I have chosen well."

She regarded him curiously, chosen well?.

Vaati sighs, uncrossing his arms. "Very well, you may accompany me to the fields, although I must say I did not expect you'd be interested in the affairs of battling."

Lily let out the breath she was holding in, looking at Pippin in her arms. "Hear that? We have a show to see."

With that, Vaati then turned to Robbie. "You will watch over her in the meantime. Oh and Lily, I do hope your changing out of that flimsy nightwear. It's not appropriate for the occasion."

Robbie gave a flustered curt nod. "Y-yes my Lord." Lily and Robbie watch the retreating form of Vaati as he makes his way to the throne room. "So... Ready to see Vaati kick some monster's butt?"


	8. chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily watches the fight she's been waiting for.

Somewhere below the Palace of winds in an uncharted territory of Hyrule field. A wizzrobe sorceress with yellow robes stood, and next to her an old wizzrobe, carrying a big brown stick. Around them, monsters of every kind wondered about. From Moblins to Lizalfos, to Stalfos to Bokoblin, you name it.

Lena sighed, looking off into the far distance. She's been working under Vaati ever since Gilard, who she was previously apprenticed under, and to be quite frank, she didn't know who was worst. Having been previously under Gilards wing, well, you had to have all the patients in the world. There are times when he never seemed to shut up, he loved talking about himself and all the achievements he's made. Then there's Vaati, you had to have tough skin to be around him. If you didn't get a task done, you more than likely would have your days limited.

Although Lena was not afraid of him anymore, she did feel bad for whoever had to suffer his wrath.

“So Lena, Lord Vaati is to be expected after all. Hmpf! I must say it's been a while we have seen him in action.” Gilard muses.

Lena chuckles and looks up. “Yes, about time. No doubt about it that I can use a little exercise today.”

Gilard snorts, waving his brown cane around. “I must say, that girl you mentioned, Lily, was it? Vaati has her wrapped around his finger, doesn't he? hehe, that shameless mage.”

Lena crosses her arms, appearing to be in thought. “I happen to find her fascinating. I mean honestly, getting stolen by the one and only Vaati? The girl has barely shown any signs of giving up. Plus with that witty mouth of hers, I say she might just be unbreakable.” she says sarcastically.

Gilard lets out a haggard chuckle, leaning on his cane he puts a hand on Lena's shoulder. “Speaking of Lily, the little harlot might get forced into marriage! That wind mage always had a knack for capturing pretty young things,” he says. Lena huffs, a small smile forming on her lips.

“I have a feeling things may turn out different for her.”

If Vaati ever had the patience of a saint, it would be right about now.

Lily and Robbie were standing not far, discussing how the palace they were in, kept afloat. “In this case, science can't even grasp how the natural law of gravity works up here,” Robbie discussed.

“Really? I suppose magic and science don't really mesh well together haha.” Lily responded.

Robbie laughed, twiddling his thumbs.

“Well yes, that's true. The world of magic is beyond the law of Physics.” “You are correct, this palace exceeds the laws of everything those foolish Hylians know. This palace was created and guarded by the wind tribe, long ago an articraft called the wind element was stored here.” Vaati says, a bored expression on his face.

Lily glances up at him, a curious look etched on her features. The wind tribe? If she remembered correctly, the wind tribe were a tribe of people who lived in the Wind Ruins. Legend has it that they eventually grew mastery over the very winds themselves, once they did that they abandoned their old homes and used their wind magic to move their palace to the Cloud Tops. Taking their wind element with them, they kept it in the palace to guard over it. Since then, only people who have the artifact, 'Kinstones' could access it.

“Now if you two would please, refrain from talking about such trivial topics. I believe I have an appearance to make down below.”

Standing up, Vaati walked down towards them and turns to Lily. “As you boldly suggested before, you may accompany me,” he says, he then turns to Robbie.

“As for you, you will stay here and keep watch over the palace.” Robbie gives a small bow, “Yes my Lord.”

Lily followed Vaati to the main level of the palace, they stand outside on the base. Today was a particularly windy day, Lily couldn't help but feel a little vulnerable, only wearing a thin dress and a shawl. Goddess, what was she thinking?

“Ahem, can you um, make the wind stop? You being a wind mage and all.” Lily says, grasping her bare arms. Vaati turned around to look at her, a sly smile forming on his lips.

“My dear, are you now regretting your decision to come? Over a little wind? Well, there's no backing out now. I forbid you from turning back, those are my words and command.” He then walks over to the edge, peering down below. “I'm going to use teleportation, that will be the more appropriate method.”

Lily watches him, teleportation? Like the one he used when he brought her here? That's the only teleportation she could think of. She walked over to where he was, curiously peering over his shoulder.

“Um, and how exactly do you do that?”

“Simple, you only need to touch my hand. Otherwise, you would end up in who knows where.”

Lily slowly nodded. Vaati turned around to face her, putting his hand on her palm. She noticed that his nails were a little sharp, and... They were warm? A small blush crept its way to her cheeks, 'No Lily, keep it together! You must resist his warm hands!' Suddenly she felt the wind pick up around them and feeling the familiar sense of weightlessness.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the surface. It felt like a minute of weightlessness before she felt the ground beneath her feet again. Slowly she peeked open an eye, seeing that she was in the Hyrule field once again. Realizing that she was still grasping on to his hand, she quickly let go.

Before her, a yellow robbed wizzrobe stood, only this one looked different. She appeared to have more human features, instead of bearing one single glowing eye, she had two glowing eyes. Along with short raven black hair, she had human legs as well. Beside her, an old-looking wizzrobe with a brown cane stood.

“Ah, the guest of the evening has finally arrived. Fashionably late as always Lord Vaati.” Gilard says.

Beside him, Lena spoke up. “Lord Vaati, I see you've brought your guest as well.” Turning to Lily, she does a small curtsy. “I'm Lena, and boy do I already know much about you.”

Lily suppressed a smile before giving a curtsy of her own.

“Yes, I heard about you from Robbie.”

Lena chuckles, “That Robbie, leave it to him to spill all the info.”

Vaati clears his throat, grabbing the attention on him.

“Gilard, I believe that little conversation we had earlier needs to be revisited.”

Gilard sighs, waving his marred cane before him. “Yes yes, I believe we do.”

Then, with a snap of his fingers, monsters start to form all around them, surrounding them entirely. Lilys widened a little, looking around her. If this crazy old bat sics them all on just the two of them, that would be the worst. She unconsciously took a step closer to Vaati. That's right, she has him to protect her from them, but she couldn't help but feel a little weary. Vaati chuckles, seemingly not bothered by the horde of monsters.

“You old fool. All these years and you still underestimate my power.” He then looks to Lena. “If you want a fight, then a fight is what you'll get.”

Lena steps forward, a smirk on her face. “Let's get going shall we?”

If the wind wasn't already bad before, it got worse. Harsh winds started picking up around Vaati, his palms outstretched and lighting began to farm around him. Lily took a quick step back, finding temporary shelter behind a boulder. Gilard was the only one that didn't seem affected by the rough wind, instead, he stood with his cane outstretched his hand and looking overall pleased with the situation.

A magic ball appears in Lena's hand, growing bigger until it's the size of a golf ball. She throws it in Vaati's direction, it separates into three fireballs. Upon contact, Vaati easily deflects them and in one same motion, sends a wind spell her way. Lena shoots up her arms to block the attack, and upon impact, it sends her flying backward. She flies through the air and stops upside down. A small grin on her face, specks of static form around her. Aiming it directly towards him with such speed, Vaati dodges and teleports out of the way and appears on the other side.

The wind whipping around him, making his cape blowing in multiple directions, he makes Several mini-tornadoes forms around him, spinning at a rapid speed he sends them towards her. Lena had only a minute to react, flying through the air to avoid them. When she carefully dodged them and formed an energy spell in both her hands.

Lily watched the scene quietly, in the inside she had been secretly rooting for Lena to win even though that was a far fetch.

“Lord Vaati is certainly holding back, wouldn't you agree?”

She jumped a bit when she heard a voice behind her, she turned around to see Gilard standing there. “Lena, a skilled sorceress she may be, is no match for him. After all, this is only a play fight.” he continues.

Lily looked at him, then towards the two fightings. She wasn't going to lie, but it did seem like Vaati showed no signs of slowing down. Although standing here and watching them fight she couldn't help but feel adrenaline and excitement.

“She seems to be keeping up good,” Lily says. Gilard chuckled, amused at her innocence.

“You are a girl of dumb luck. You got spared by Vaati and you've managed not to get on his bad side. Quite the lucky one indeed.”

Lily stifled a laugh, looking from the fight to Gilard. “I've seen only a fraction of his bad side. He's rather...eccentric at times,” she replied.

Gilard lets out a cackle, leaning on his cane. Lily raised an eyebrow at him, what was so funny?

“I wouldn't be surprised if you were forced into marriage. That mage even tried to marry Princess Zelda long ago.”

Lily paused. Marry her? She didn't even want to think about that right now. Instead, she turned her focus back on the battle.

Vaati and Lena were currently at a standstill. Lena was breathing a little heavily, but her eyes held a sly glint. Vaati, on the other hand, had his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly unscathed.

“That was a bit of an exercise. Now, I think it's time we stop fighting and instead bring out the big guns.” Lena said.

Vaati chuckled. “I fully agree, this fight was beginning to bore me.”

Snapping his fingers, a whole array of monsters lines up in front of him. Lena then snaps her fingers and monsters of her own show-up. Standing behind her own legion of monsters, Lena gave out one command.

“Go sic 'em.”


	9. chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a fight is fought and won.

“Go sic em”

An array of monsters, from little too big to tall, attacked Vaati's army of monsters. A small smirk formed on Vaati's face. Is that the best they can do?  
With a snap of his wrist, his monsters began to attack, Swiping away fiercely at the opposite opponent.

Lena stood with her arms crossed over her chest, staring at Vaati as if they were mentally communication. Lena's army of monsters began to push back, blocking the opponent's attacks. Vaati stood with his arms crossed as well, cape flowing behind him with a smug expression on his face.

His monsters continuing to swipe away, barring their sharp teeth. Lena's monsters stood their ground, waiting for the opportunity to strike before striking back with the same fierceness. Lily observed the battle, hands clasped close to her chest. She had no idea who would win, instead, she focused her attention on Vaati. Man, does this guy ever falter? Oh, that's right, he's Vaati. She hugs the shawl closer over her shoulder's, almost wishing she'd stayed at the palace.

Lena's monsters had gotten the upper hand, if only for a minute. Teeth bared, one particularly large creature had a smaller creature by the neck. With one mighty swing, it sent the smaller creature flying off into the air, only to be eaten by another creature. Vaati's army didn't seem to tire. His creature's pushing the other army back with strength. The numbers of monsters in Lena's army drastically lowering and dwindling. Lena stood watching her army slowly dying, a small sigh escaped her lips, no fair. Her monsters, although strong, were no match against Vaati's powerful magic-induced monsters, and she had to end it right here.

“Hey! Let's call it truce yeah? This little play fight is over!”

Vaati sighed, looking bored with watching his monsters slay hers. “I agree, It's rather obvious that my army has outmatched yours wouldn't you agree?” With a snap of his fingers, his monsters disappeared along with Lena's army of monsters. Clapping could be heard in the distance.

“Well done, you haven't gotten rusty one bit,” Gilard said.

Lena huffed, looking over to him. “No kidding, my army totally got their asses handed to them.” Gilard chuckled, patting her shoulder.

“Oh Lena child, your powers weren't far off from his. In fact, I'd say it was a tie!”

Vaati walked up towards them, rolling his eyes. “ Only because I happened to hold back, now if you two are done here, I think It's time I take my leave.” Lena sighs, turning to him.

“A good exercise yeah? boy did that wear me out.”

Vaati glanced to where Lily was standing, motioning with his hand. “Come along, It's time we take our leave.”

Nodding she makes her way towards him, standing next to him. Gilard straightened his hunched back, waving his staff in front of him.

“Farewell, for now, oh and do tell that rascal, Robbie, to get rid of those bothersome keese in the palace! They're everywhere nowadays.”

Lily stifled a laugh while Vaati grinned. “Oh, I will,” he replied. Vaati then grabbed Lily's hand and in a minute, they were out of sight. Lena up at the sky, head cocked to the sky.

“ Think she'll last with him?”

Gilard cackled, grabbing on to his cane.

“That womanizer...”

Lily didn't have enough time to register what happened quickly enough. One minute she had been standing, then the next she was met with weightlessness. She opened her eyes to see the familiar white marble of the palace. They were standing on a balcony, overlooking the clouds and the sun setting behind them. She turned to see Vaati standing beside her, Bordley staring out in the distance.

“That was... a great fight, I think you won,” Lily said, laughing nervously. Wait, why was she nervous? Vaati chuckled, then sighed, still staring off into the distance.

“Those fools were widely outnumbered, I might as well have done it with a blindfold.” Lily regarded his words, staring off into the sunset. If she hadn't known any better, she would've thought the scene romantic. She observed him carefully, watching his almost peaceful expression as he gazed about. If only for a moment, she would have thought of him as a regular person, but she thought better of it.

His ears twitched as if he sensed someone staring at him, turning around to catch her staring at him. “Something on your mind?”

Lily could feel a slight blush form on her cheeks, quickly she thought of an excuse. “I- I was just amazed by your combat skills, that's all haha.” She mentally slapped herself, way to go Lily.

Vaati regarded her for a minute, his eyes held a hint of amusement. Stepping just an inch in front of her he swiftly catches her chin with his hand. “Did anyone teach you any manners? It's terribly rude to stare dear.” And as quickly as that, he walked away, cape flowing behind him and leaving a red-faced Lily staring at the floor.

Did...did that just happen?

Lily let out a breath she was holding in, staring up at the skies. He was getting the better of her. Sighing, Lily walked back into the palace. The smell food of was coming from a specific direction, it must be dinner or something. Lily made her way towards the delicious aroma, where she sees a pot wriggling in the corner of her eye. Slowly she approached the pot, watching as it rolls back and forth. Carefully Lily reached a hand and opened the pot, and out popped a certain creature.

"...Pippin?"

Pippin's head pops out of the pot, appears to be hiding, he notices her and slowly sits upright. “Oh, it's just you, you scared me! This is one of my many hiding places.” Lily squats down and lets out a small laugh. Can this thing get any cuter?

“Say, Pippin, have you see Robbie around here?” Pippin cocks its head to the side, then squeaks. “Robbie? The last time I saw him was when you left.”

Just then as she was about to reply, she hears a voice coming in from the distance.

“Lady Lily? Ah, there you are! Glad to see you've made it just in time for dinner, I was just about to fetch you.” Robbie said. Lily quickly stood up and brushed off her skirts, turning towards Robbie.

“I was just about to head over there.” Robbie motions for her to follow him. Arriving a the dining hall, Lily takes a seat at the far end of the elaborate table full of delicious food. She looked up from the plate to see Vaati standing up, his hand raised with a glass of wine in it. “Let's dig in.”

After dinner, Lily retired back to her room. Shedding off the dress and slipping on a nightgown, She walked over to the large windows and push them open. Staring out at the cloudy starry sky. Perhaps her stay here wouldn't be too bad? If she could manage to stay on his good side. Speaking of him, I wonder if he ever sleeps? I'm pretty sure he has a master bedroom, full of purple things.

She yawns, feeling sleeping from the day.


	10. chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily wakes up to a surprise.

A soft melody could be heard in the Palace, A melancholy tune that sent a shiver up Lily's spine. It had been in the middle of the night when she had heard the music, waking her from her slumber.

Pulling the covers over slowly, Lily slowly got out of bed, she walked over to the nearest wall and put an ear against it. Where could that be possibly been coming from?

She hadn't recalled ever seeing an instrument of any sort in the palace, nor had she seen an organ, well, yet. Lilly carefully pushed open the doors and stepped out into the corridors. At the same time, she could hear the music playing a little louder and in a certain direction.

She made a left turn and soon found her way near the throne room, hearing the music clearly now she made a right down the next hall. There she sees a large ornate door, she slowly approaches it. Well, here goes nothing.

She opened the doors and peeked her head inside. Inside there was a big organ in the center of the room, a sad yet melodic tune vibrating across the room, It looked like a ballroom of sorts. There she saw Vaati, playing away at the organ. Lily watched him, taking a small step into the room.

She had to admit, he was really talented. How his long fingers quickly grazed the surface of the keys, never missing a beat. Lily was almost caught in a trance by simply staring at him, that is until she heard a voice. "I know you're there, your quite the heavy walker dear," Vaati spoke.

Lily froze, she forgets, he could practically hear and see everything.

She watched as he turned around to face her. "I'm guessing I awoken you from your sleep?" He says, crossing his arms.

She tried to find a good enough excuse. "That was a beautiful song," she said instead.

Vaati regarded her for a moment before answering. "Yes, a song that I've known how to play for centuries."

An awkward pause fills the space. Vaati sighs and uncrosses his arms, slowly taking a step towards her. "I suppose I can spare a few moments, I'm in a rather fairing mood. Care to dance?" he says, his hand outstretched.

Dance? Lily hadn't expected that response. Rather a cold and cynical one, but dancing? Whether she knew how to dance or not, she would have to dance with him! Screw it.

Taking a deep breath, she walked forward closing the gap and taking his hand. With a snap of his fingers, the organ starts up again and is now playing a smooth rhythmic tune on its own. Vaati takes Lily's hand, while the other settled on her waist, starting out in a closing position.

It would be a lie to say she didn't feel a bit awkward, so she put on a fake smile and went with it. The room started to become a blur and it felt like she was floating through the air. This was positively dizzying.

Their movements soon became fluid as the music became a little faster. Every fast tug and turn made Lily grab on tighter to his shoulder. "I never knew you would be this good of a dancer, Lord Vaati," Lily spoke up.

Vaati takes a moment to answer. "Being a mage such as myself, one can acquire certain skills, that including the arts of music and waltzing."

He gave her a spin, catching her off guard a bit. "Interesting. Were you self-taught?" Lily asked, feigning fake interest.

He smirked at her question before answering. "There is one particular yes, he was my mentor long ago. The old fool is no longer existent. Since then, yes, I taught myself." Lily stared at him. Mentor? if she remembered correctly, she read something about an 'Ezlo' person, well Piccori.

"Ezlo, wasn't it? It's just that I've heard about him in a history book," she said. Spinning her around and keeping a steady pace, it was his turn to stare at her.

"A history book? I was not aware that you Hylians keep track of these things." Vaati mused. Lily let out a small laugh, tilting her head to the side. "We keep track of every bit of history, even the ones that date back to the beginning of Hyrule," she said, twirling around.

Suddenly she didn't feel so awkward anymore, the silence between them growing more comfortable and less uncomfortable. She then felt herself being dipped, she looked up at Vaati to see him looking down at her.

"It seems that I've been gone for too long. Tell me, do you know anything about that green idiot with a ridiculous hat?". He says, pulling her back into a closing position.

Green idiot? The last time she checked, she was pretty sure the hero wore green and a hat that went by the name 'link'. "You mean the hero link? I have heard of him." Lily says. It took her a minute to notice the changing expression on Vaati's face, going from mild annoyance to full irritation.

Lily blinked with uncertainty, surely she hasn't pushed a button? "Once I get my hands on that brat...touché, I believe there are important matters to be dealt with," Vaati eventually responded.

The music came to a stop, as if on cue with his annoyance. Their waltz came to an end leaving Lily a little light-headed from the adrenaline.

"I believe I have something to show you. Follow me," he said, motioning his hand. Lily reluctantly followed, taking note of the spiral staircase that they had to walk up.

She walked shortly behind him, making her feet didn't slip off of the marble flooring. There were also no railings, and she had to stop herself from blindly holding on to his cape, which would be quite embarrassing.

"Ah, there we are." Vaati's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. They were in front of a corridor that leads to a library. So he brought her to a library?

Lily was surprised to see all the arrangements of books neatly lined together in an array of various shelves. He led her over to an old looking chest covered in dust, one that looked like it hadn't been used in years. With a flick of his wrist, the decrepit chest flies open and floats an old-looking book.

With the book in hand, the mage turns to her. "This book, though worn out and hasn't been used for centuries, is still of use to me in some way,"

Lily nodded, waiting for him to continue. He sighs, holding out the book to her. "I'm going turn you into an apprentice."


	11. chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily finds her abilities.

"I'm going to turn you into an apprentice."

A what? An apprentice? Lily had a million questions she wanted to ask. She stared at the old book in his hand, then up at him. "Apprentice?"

He leaned against the bookcase, staring at his nails. "Yes, an apprentice. I'll explain more once we get outside." She grabs the old book from him, curiously looking through the pages.

She looked up from the book to see him heading out towards the back door, she quickly caught up and exited through the door and into a familiar courtyard.

Great, the creepy statues again. A flash of lightning could be heard in the far distance and shortly after rain began to pour from the sky. Lily was glad they were standing under a tree, shielding her from the rain.

"The reason I bought you out here is that I wanted to test out something, something that involves magic."

Lily stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "You see that statue over there?" he pointed to the nearest statue. "I need you to focus on it, open your palm, and then focus your energy on your palm."

Giving an uncertain look, Lily did as she was told. Staring at the statue in front of her, she focused on it long and hard. Suddenly a sizzle was felt in her hand, looking at her hand she saw a faint light, panic began to set in, and she moved her hand. The ball of light began to flicker and fade.

"Focus Lily!" she heard him say. Lily gulped, concentrating on the statue again. Slowly the ball of light began to appear back in her hand. Looking at the statue, she felt the sizzle grow stronger. "Now aim your hand towards the statue and send the ball of light at it," Vaati explained.

Aim it at the statue, that shouldn't be so hard. She raised her hand towards it and flicked her wrist. She watched as the ball of light left her hand at a fast speed and hit the statue, it crumbled immediately upon contact.

Claps could be heard behind her, she turned to face Vaati. "Just as I suspected. I sensed you had abilities but I didn't know to this extent,"

Abilities? She had no clue what he was talking about. "How did I do that?" she asked.

Another flash of lightning was heard in the distance. "You see my dear, I have a knack for knowing when someone has a hidden ability. A couple of centuries ago, I was able to tell when the young princess of Hyrule carried a special force within her, the light force." He sighed, continuing. "Tell me, who were your parents?"

Her parents? Lily paused, not sure how to answer. "I was told both of my parents died when I was young, however, I still have my necklace that was supposedly from my mother," she said, showing her necklace.

Vaati looked on with interest in his eyes, staring at the symbol on her necklace. "Hm? That symbol is the Triforce..." he gazed.

"Alright, I need all of you to neatly form in a straight line." A group of armos jumped before Robbie, seemingly restless and completely in disarray. Though by a miraculous force, one by one each armos jumped into a straight line.

Loud thunder suddenly sounded nearby outside, thus, making the armos more agitated and shift out of line. "Those things are lost cause I tell you" a voice was heard near the entrance.

Robbie looked up to see Lena standing by the entrance, arms crossed. "Ah Lena, what brings you here?"

Uncrossing her arms she walks towards him. "This damn storm has ruined my monsters patrol down in Hyrule, that crazy old coot Gilard is still trying to maintain his patrol,"

Another flash of lightning could be heard, making thunder rumble in the distance. "Yes yes, due to Lord Vaati's absence I've decided to take it upon myself to try to teach these unruly group of armos," Robbie replied.

"Oh? How long has he been gone?" Lena inquired. Robbie shifted, looking towards the ground. "Since midnight, and I haven't seen Lily in her room either."

"Hm, wonder where they went."

"The Triforce?" Lily hadn't thought anything of the symbol on her necklace, her nana had given it to her saying it was from her mother before she died.

Vaati lets go of the necklace, appearing to be lost in thought, a flicker of surprise lit up in his eyes. "With your ability, there's a chance you may be related to the royal bloodline." he mused, mostly to himself.

Lily shifted uncomfortably. Her mother had died, and so did her father, so that can't be right?

"No, you must be mistaking! There's no way I'm related," she exclaimed. Vaati sighed and crossed his arms.

"The royal ladies of Hyrule down the line have always shared magic abilities of some kind. The sooner I told you about your abilities, the better it would be for you."

Lily could feel a headache began to form, nothing was making sense to her right now. A loud sound of thunder interrupted her thoughts and making her jump.

"Come with me to the throne room,"

Lily followed him, feeling drained mentally and physically drained. When they entered the throne room they saw Robbie and Lena standing nearby, a line of armos next to them.

"Ah, I have seen you finally got them under control." Vaati remarks.

Robbie jumps at the sound of his voice and turned around to see Lily and Vaati walking towards them. "L-Lord Vaati? Lily? There you are!"

Lily smiles tiredly in acknowledgment, before turning to Lena and doing the same. "You both are back. Don't mind me though, I just stopped by to inform you on your monster patrol down there." Lena said.

Vaati walks up to his throne and takes a seat, waiting for the three's attention. "Our guest here, Lily, may not just be some peasant girl after all. For some time now I was able to pick up faint traces of magic coming from this girl, specifically when in close contact. Earlier today, she was able to form light magic with little reluctance. Which leads to another thing, I will make her an apprentice."

Robbie and Lena looked at Vaati to each other, to Lilly. "Have you noticed this before Lily?" asked Lena.

Lily shook her head, looking down. "I haven't."

"Oh, Lily, you look tired. Maybe this wasn't a good time..." Robbie trailed off. Vaati stood up, gaining the attention of the three.

"Lily, that book I gave you, I trust you will read it and study it carefully. You are still new to your abilities, there is much training to be done."

Lily had almost forgotten the book in her hand, looking down at it with weariness. "I understand, if you'll excuse me, I will be off to my room."

At this, Vaati glanced quickly at Robbie, as if prompting him to take her. "Of course! This way,"

As soon as they reached the door to her room, Lily walked over to the bed and jumped down on it. Glancing at the book, she opened the first page of it.


	12. chapter 12

Somewhere in the palace, A certain mage could be seen walking slowly backing and forth, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

"hmm...the girl could be of great use to me after all," Vaati said.

He didn't want to admit it at first, but there was a time where he sensed that hidden power inside Lily. When they were just about to teleport to the fields below and took a hold of her hand, that's when he felt it. It was very faint, so he just dismissed it the first time. The second time was after the fight with Lena, right when they were about to teleport he grabbed her hand again and that's when it hit him.

Vaati sighed to himself, he couldn't have ever guessed that a girl like her could possess the same abilities that Princess Zelda had. Speaking of the Princess, the recent Zelda of this generation had died giving birth to a child. If Lily possessed the power of light, which the royal family did, she could very well be the missing heir. Stopping, he frowned to himself.

Yes, if the girl is indeed the lost heir then that makes her an enemy to him.>

His plans for conquering Hyrule had to be put on hold, at least for now. Right now, his main priority would be to train her how to use her abilities. However, he did wonder whether or not she carried the light force. The Zelda he turned to stone had it, and oh was it of use to him.

If he wanted to, he could easily just steal whatever power that was in Lily and use it to become a God. No, he would do things differently this time around. With a satisfied grin on his face, he walked out of his chambers.

"Ugh! why won't this work!"

Lily threw the book on the bed, frustrated, angry, and confused. First, she concentrated on an object, try to channel energy into the palm of her hand, and then aim it. So why isn't it working!

Tired, she sat on the bed and picked the book back up. Curious she went through its pages.

' Being Hylia's chosen people, some Hylians can acquire magical accessibility through skilled practice. The royal family of Hyrule is said to have a sacred power hidden in every heir. The Hylian Princess, Zelda is said to hold this sacred power. It is passed down from generation to generation of heirs. It is with this power, she may possess the power to accompany the hero in defeating the evil that continues to plague this land.'

Lily slowly closed the book, lost in thought. There's no way, is it? It couldn't possibly be true.

She needed fresh air.

Getting up, Lily made her way towards the door and entered the halls, finding a balcony to the far right. A nice breeze of wind greeted her as she walked to the edge.

"Didn't expect to see you there, you ok?" a voice said behind Lily. She turns around and sees the tall wizzrobe in yellow, Lena, standing there.

"I'm fine, although I'm a bit in shock," Lily replied. She heard a laugh, followed by heels coming closer.

"A bit? more like a lot. You look pale as a ghost and I swear you were going to pass out back there." Lena said. Lily laughed a bit, her mood shifting slightly.

The young Princess looked down at her necklace and held on to it. "My nana gave me this necklace, she told me my mother had wanted me to have it."

Lena raises a curious brow, coming over to look at my necklace. "That's the Triforce symbol, a peculiar necklace you got there."

Lily let it go and let out a small sigh. " Yes, the Triforce is supposedly the insignia of the royal family." She pauses to look up at her, "And about becoming an apprentice, did you learn your powers from him as well?". Lena chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh no, we wizzrobes are born with powers. But I was an apprentice to Vaati at one point. Man those were tough days." she comes next to Lily and leans on the railing, "Gilard was worse though, old coot never shuts up and always goes on mindless tangents."

"Being an apprentice...It shouldn't be too bad, right?" Lily pondered, mostly to herself.

"Whatever the case is, you have a lot to look forward to I'm sure." Lena said. 

Lena then turns on her hill, "Anywho, I have to get on with my duties, see you around." Lily watched as she heads back into the palace, turning around she looked up at the sky.

Something twinkling in the distance, Lily saw a star shooting down across the stars. She closed her eyes and found herself making a wish.

"Please let all the answers fall out before me."


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily understands that her father is the King of Hyrule.

"Why are we here again?"

The mage had taken them to an area called Castor Wilds. Lily had heard stories from her friends back in Hyrule town of the lush woodland. Even her caretaker once told her of the many memories she had there as a child. Castor Wilds consisted of a large swamp in the middle of surrounded by trees. The swamp had been named after the Castor Wilds that existed a century ago. Although this was a nice change of scenery, she couldn't help but be a little creeped out by the weird-looking trees. Vaati came to a stop, turning around to face Lily.

"I brought you here so you can properly use your magic. We will use these trees as practice." Vaati said.

Lily nodded and took a deep breath, staring at the brown crooked tree in front of her. Focusing on it as if it was an opponent, she focused her energy in the palm of her hand like Vaati had instructed. Soon enough she felt warmth flicker in her hand, slowly, without taking her eyes off the tree she flung the light ball towards it.

She watched in fascination as the tree cracked and imploded, splitting down the middle.

"Very good. The powers that you possess, have the potential to be very powerful...Just like your ancestors." Vaati mused.

Ancestors? for some reason, she still had a hard time coping with what he told her. Even though there was no other way to explain her mysterious powers, she didn't want to believe it.

"About that...The book you gave me, it said that the Princesses of Hyrule all had light magic." "Yes, that is correct. " Vaati said. Lily gazed at the broken tree, she turned to him. "If my ancestors were of royal blood, and my mother was the late Queen of Hyrule...Then that makes me the heir of Hyrule...Then who is my father?"

Hyrule castle

"Your Majesty, It's an honor to see you again."

Before the King of Hyrule, kneeled a middle-aged woman in her forties. The King stood from the throne, instantly recognizing the woman.

"Elisa, is that you? It's been years..." Link said.

She stood up, a tired smile on her face. "Yes, it has been a long time. Your Majesty, your daughter has grown up to be a beautiful young woman. Her name is Lily."

Elisa said, teary-eyed. Link felt the world lifted from his shoulders. The fear and anxiety gripping at his heart for his daughter could finally be put at ease. It had been years since that fateful day of her birth, and many years waiting, and hoping to see his daughter again.

"How is she?" Link said. That was all he could muster. Elisa sighed, closing her eyes. "On her eighteenth birthday, she left home. She said she wanted to explore the world. When she was young, I did my best to shield her from the world. I was so afraid for her safety, but she was always a curious child. I knew someday, she would want to know more, to see more. I kept her mother's necklace, she has it with her. It's the only thing she knows about her birth mother." Link looked at her with compassion in his eyes, he reached out and touched her shoulder.

"You did a great job, Elisa. You raised her very well, no one can blame you. For now, we can only hope for her return one day." Elisa smiled, wiping her tears.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you..."

"My father...is the King," Lily said, more to herself.

Vaati laughed, watching her dazed expression. "Correct dear, however, it surprises me it took you all this time to figure that out."

Lily flushed. Was that an insult?

"H-hey! this is life-changing information you know!"

The bushes around them suddenly started to shuffle, catching Lily's attention. The swamp began to bubble, moving from one end to the other. As fast as either they suspected, a giant worm-like creature shot up from the depths of the murky water. What is that? Lily froze.

It's head moved from left to right as if trying to sniff where its prey was. Then it lunged towards them, teeth bared and aiming for the kill. Lily almost had no time to react, moving quickly to the side and falling to the ground.

She felt a strong gust of wind zip past her, the air around her moving violently. Then she heard a loud screech, looking up from where she was she saw the creature hit a tree, it's slimy body cut in half slumping to the ground. A pale hand outstretched down at her.

"Can't have you killed now can we? Are you hurt?" Vaati said.

Lily shook her head, taking his hand, she stood up. "What...was that?" she said.

He sighed, taking a step back. "It's clearly not safe here I presume."

Lily wiped off her skirt, regaining her balance.

"We're going back," Vaati said.

For once, Lily couldn't agree more with him. She wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. However, something was nagging at her. Something that she needed to know first.

"Vaati... do you happen to know the king? my father?", Lily asked.

Vaati paused for a minute, in thought. "No, I do not. I do, however, remember awakening from my seal." Lily, intrigued, waiting for him to continue.

"It's quite an interesting story..."


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily learns new magic tricks. Meanwhile, her father gets prepared for war.

Somewhere inside an old ancient shrine, an old cracked sword seated into the ground. An ominous-looking eye was carved into the stone behind the sword. It's single eye staring down at the ground below, the wind circulating around the area. A glow began to emanate around the sword, a vibration suddenly engulfing the chamber. With a crack of the seal, a black monstrous form erupted from the depths of the sword.

The form morphing into a giant black-winged eyeball, a single eyelid opening to reveal a black demonic red eye. 'Where is that foolish boy!'.

Vaati had been asleep for over a century and the last thing he remembered was agony. Being stabbed in the eye and bleeding out was the last thing he felt before being sealed. With a blind rage building inside him, his winged form flew outside. Taking a look around him, he had been sealed in the same shrine over a century but the surrounding area was different. 'How long have I been in that damned seal?'

Vaati was none too pleased about this situation. This was his third time being sealed away and it always was the same situation, he had no clue where he was. His eyeball form flew forth, surveying the area below. Finally, after what seemed like hours he spotted a castle in the distance.  
'It would be so easy...But I can't go there, not now at least.' A dark thought suddenly crossed his mind. If he couldn't physically go there, he would send a vortex to engulf the wreak havoc upon the kingdom.

With his last bit of energy, he summoned a black orb. Dark clouds began to form above Hyrule, the black orb growing bigger and spinning with growing speed. A giant black twister plowed its way towards the castle, tearing through the earth and destroying everything in its path. Using the last bit of his energy, he felt satisfied.

' A little hello from me to those fools.' His monstrous form began to shapeshift, morphing, and becoming smaller until he was in his Hylian form. Standing up he took a look at his hands. 'It's been some time since I've had a body. Now, off to find my palace.' With that, he teleported out of Hyrule and into the skies...

"Your Majesty, the Council is ready."

The King was gazing outside on top of a tower. His favorite place to let his thoughts clear. Having heard the recent news of his daughter, he felt a little at ease. The day of her birth, when Elisa had taken her to safety. The castle had suddenly been under attack, whatever it was had almost took his life.

Link sighed, recalling those memories from that fateful day made him uneasy. When the four swords began to weaken, the Queen had begun to grow weary of it breaking. Neither of them would have guessed it would break right when their daughter came into the world. The malevolent force that invaded the castle was caused by none other than the demon that was in the blade. Link clenched his fists.

He knew that the demon was still alive.

He thanked the Goddesses that Lily was safe. When Elisa held her when she was a baby, she looked so much like her mother. He had no doubt that she will grow up and having wisdom beyond her years. Wherever she was, he just hoped that she was happy and that maybe one day, he would get to her soon.

"I'll be there." Link said. The guard nodded and walked out of the room. Link, however, couldn't help but feel a sense of growing discomfort. There was still danger out there, a very dangerous threat. The problem is he had no idea where it was.

Wherever it was, he would find it and end it.

"So, that's how you found your palace?" Lily asked.

By the time they had gotten back to the palace, Lily was feeling fatigued and she didn't know if it was from using magic or from staying up for almost two days.

"Yes, in fact, this place was just like how it was from before," Vaati said.

Lily stopped walking, covering her mouth to stop from giggling. "Really? even with keese?" she said. Vaati stopped walking, an annoyed sigh escaping his mouth.

"Do you take pleasure in asking idiotic questions?"

Upon entering the palace, Robbie spotted them and came over to greet them. "Lady Lily, Master Vaati, welcome back."

"Hello, Robbie." Lily greeted in return. Vaati muttered a response in return, taking a look at the well-lined armos statues.

"Well done Robbie. You've finally managed to get those unruly things under control. You will be off duty for today." Robbie quickly bowed. "T-thank you, my Lord."

Vaati then looked to Lily, "As for you, we're still not done for today. There's still a demonstration to be taught."

Lily nodded, although she was a bit tired she also wanted to know more about magic.

"Follow me," Vaati said, leading her to the throne room and somewhere unfamiliar to her. Lily looked back at Robbie, giving him a half worried look.

Robbie watched them go, giving Lily two thumbs up if telling her not to worry.

They made their way down a long corridor and into a room that had no walls. The sky was visible from both sides, clouds slowing moving across the sky. There was only the white marble flooring that kept Lily at ease, deciding not to stray too far.

"Here we are," Vaati said, turning to her. "I'm going teach how to properly deflect attacks." He then snapped his fingers, making a sentry appear.

"When an enemy launches with an attack, a magic attack per se, you will have to react quickly." Lily nodded, feeling a bit apprehensive. "When an enemy attack using magic, you must create an energy force around you, deflecting it. For example." He pauses, standing still. Suddenly, a force of wind blew from around him, making Lily take a step back.

The wind stopped, his clothes and hair returning to normal. "By making an energy force around you, you must focus on your target. This does not apply to me for my powers differ from yours." Vaati said.

"Alright, how would I do that?" Lily asked. She was a little confused about how to summon her powers. From what she read in the book, she had light magic, the same as her mother's.

The sentry's eye began to glow. "You will have to try and deflect its beam," Vaati replied. The glow in the floating sentry's eye began to turn red, then a beam shot from its single eye towards Lily. Her hand quickly shot up, hoping that her abilities wouldn't fail her now. Opening her eyes, she saw that she had not been hit.

Instead, a see-through like prism surrounded her.

She lowered her hands, the prism dissolving into the air. "Good, I see you're the fast learner. We'll have to go for something more difficult." Vaati said, walking to the middle of the room. "You'll have to deflect some of my attacks."

Lily walked and stood in front of him, hands up, and feeling a bit anxious. Maybe he would go easy on her?

Vaati raised his finger, a dark purple magic ball crackling to life. Growing to the size of a small ball, he flung it at her. Okay, Lily, don't mess this up, or it's your life.

She threw her hands up to deflect it, her energy shield coming to life before her. Upon impact with her energy shield, it hit with such force that it flew her back. She stumbled for a bit before falling down, her shield disappearing.

"Your energy shield was fragile this time. If it would have been any weaker It would have been a direct hit." The mage said.

Lily got up to her feet, staring at her hands. "So the key is to keep my energy shield strong at all times?"

"Correct."

Lily was beginning to grow a little confident, taking a deep breath she regained her composure. "What next?" She asked.

The mage put a hand under his chin as if deciding what next. He held up his hands, in a position to attack.

"This next one, you will have to use your reflexes. This time, you'll have to react quicker."

Lily got into a defense position, focusing on his hands and impending attack. A flurry of wind magic erupted from his hands at a quick speed, aiming directly at her. Lily quickly focused her energy to create a shield, but she wasn't quick enough.

Oh no.

Lily's shield began to dissolve. The force of his magic hitting her and sending her flying back. She lay sprawled on the ground, recovering her breath.

"You were close," Vaati said nonchalantly, arms crossed.

Ugh, he's too strong. Lily slowly got up, thankful she hadn't flown too far. She gave a huff. "That was no fair, you didn't give me a warning."

Vaati raised an elegant eyebrow, an amused smile forming on his lips. "There are no warnings dear. In a real battle, you either use your instincts or get killed."

Lily tried to give a retort back, but none came. She had been training the entire day so not only was she physically exhausted but also mentally exhausted. All she wanted to do at this point to go to sleep and recuperate her brain. But as of right now, she still had answers. If it weren't for him she would have never discovered her abilities. Not only that but to find who her father is...She had to know more.

Her predicament, although harsh, may be of use to her after all. Finally recovering her composure again, she straightened her shoulders.

"I'm ready for the next lesson."


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily recalls a memory. Meanwhile, Link gets a surprise visit from Vaati.

"Lady Lily?"

Lily jump at the sound of a voice, looking around her, she realized she was in her room again. "Robbie? what happened?"

The last thing she remembered was falling to the ground and passing out. Sitting up, Lily clutched her head, feeling a little light-headed.

"Oh, why, you fainted! Lord Vaati requested that you rest, the strain of your abilities mixed in with exhaustion can make you ill. I've made you some tea mixed with an elixir, here, drink up."  
He hands her the cup of tea. She gratefully nodded in return, taking a sip of the warm soothing drink.

"I don't know if I'm...capable of my powers, I mean, it would take forever to properly control them," Lily says. Robbie gingerly sets the tray down on the table.

"Even the greatest of sorcerors need a break sometimes. I wouldn't let it dampen my spirits, it's essential for humans not to overwork themselves."

Lily looked down at the cup in her hands, staring at the reflection. Even if it was true that she might be some lost heir to the royal family, she still wanted to be normal. Not with these stupid powers, and definitely not stuck in a floating palace.

"Thanks, Robbie," Lily muttered.

Robbie quickly bowed before heading out of the door, leaving her to her thoughts. Laying back down on the bed, the young Princess closed her eyes, trying to recall what had happened before she blacked out.

Flashback

"Okay, now what," Lily asked.

"This next lesson will be difficult, seeing as you are a beginner, I'll go easy. However, that doesn't mean to let your guard down." Vaati said.

Lily crossed her arms, "I never let my guard down! I may be a beginner but I already know the basics. Bring it."

Vaati suppressed a chuckle, "Alright then, but don't say I didn't warn you." He outstretched his hands to the side, the space in front of him picked up with the wind. Lily braced herself, waiting for his attack. In front of him, the air began to swirl, growing in speed and height.

Lily stared nervously at the growing spinning vortex, the wind felt like prickling needles against her skin. Then the mini-tornado spun towards her, moving with fierce speed. Lily lost her previous confidence and booked it, trying to conjure up enough energy to throw at the vortex.

She ran around the vortex, the force of it almost knocking her off her feet. She spun around, her magic in hand, she threw it into the spinning vortex. It stopped moving only for a minute before picking up speed again. Lily took a step back, trying to use her energy to form a protectant shield around her.

Desperation began to claw at the back of her mind, time was ticking before the tornado reached her. At the last minute, her shield finally materialized. Upon impact with her shield, Lily began to grow weak, straining to keep the vortex from devouring her. As she began to grow weak, so did her shield. It wasn't before long that she felt her body being tossed against the marble ground, her consciousness slowly fading. She covered her head, the wind suffocating her, she lost consciousness.

"Are all of the forces ready?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

The king was ready to take his troops out to the fields, intending to take out the surrounding enemies. Link watched as his group of soldiers readied the horses, they had a long day ahead of them.

Suddenly he felt a wave of dizziness come over him, grabbing on to the wall he held his breath, not knowing what hit him.

"Your Majesty? are you alright?" councilmen said. Link tried regaining his balance, catching his breath he waved a hand. "I'm fine."

Though he did not feel fine, his body did not feel right. He felt the muscles in his arm twitch, looking down at it he grabbed a hold of it. What is happening?

Then it hit him all at once. It felt as if his entire body had a mind of its own, his hand moving to reach the sword that was at his hip. He fought against his body, straining to gain control over his hand. It grabbed the sword and unsheathed it, pointing at the poor councilmen's neck.

"W- what is the meaning of this?" the man stuttered, eyes bulging.  
Link gritted his teeth, trying with all his might to drop his sword. His mouth began to move, forcing him to speak.

"You fools will go nowhere. If anyone moves I won't hesitate to kill this swine." Every syllable felt foreign on his tongue.

As soon as he said that, felt a fog cover his mind. Clutching his head Link fell to his knees, eyes shut, and hearing an unfamiliar voice invade his head.

It's been quite some time, Link.

Link's body began to grow weaker and soon lost consciousness. A dark fog-like mist came from his body, spreading until it started to shapeshift.

The councilmen and the guards watched on in terror as a solid human form appeared in front of them.

They watched as the person strode over to Links kneeled form, a triumphant smirk on his face. "Who would've guessed that you, were the king," Vaati said.

Link slowly came to, putting a hand on his head and peering up. His hand tightened on his sword, clearly whoever this person was meant no good.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Link said through his teeth. The man in purple raised a hand and put it to his chest, feigning a hurt expression.

"Oh? you don't remember me, do you? how sad."

Link had no idea who this person or being was, all he knew was that they were a big threat. He tried to stand on his feet, but his muscles did not work.

Whoever this person was, they were going to pay.

"W-whatever the case is, you have no business here." Link said. Vaati cocked his head to the sighed, clearly amused by his cluelessness.

"You know, you should consider yourself lucky. The day I broke from my seal I intended to destroy you all."

Link narrowed his eyes. Broke from the seal? He widened his eyes in realization, could this be the being who Queen Zelda warned them all about?  
Link felt even more hopeless, how could this man possess him under his nose? "You're the one who attacked the castle, weren't you?".

The mage made an 'aha' noise. "Precisely, that wasn't so hard to figure out. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Link looked up at him, eyes full of suspicion.

"W-what do you mean?"

Vaati sighed as if not wanting to explain, but continued. "A girl, if you will, has interrupted my plans you see." He stopped, taking a moment to walk back and forth.

"This girl happens to have royal blood." He turned to face Link. "Your daughter."

Link felt as if the ground underneath him dropped. He felt anger well up inside him, what did his daughter, Lily, have anything to do with this monster?

His daughter should out of harm's way, safe away from this sorcerer. "What? don't tell me she's..." Link trailed off.

The mage sighed. A disappointed look on his face, "I know, it's a shame that she was there. The poor dear couldn't help herself, so now she is paying the price of her recklessness."

Link gritted his teeth, wishing he could smite this smug bastard dead. "Don't you dare hurt her."

Vaati laughed, walking in front of him and kneeling down to his level. "Why the angry expression? I haven't gotten to that part yet." He stood up, continuing.

"The girl holds special power, a valuable power. Right now, she may still be naive in her powers, but she may be a powerful sorceress one day."

Link stared at the ground, his head still hazy from the possession. " W-what exactly do you want from my daughter?"

"Though a bit airheaded, the girl has proven to be of great use to me. With her powers, she'll rule alongside me." Vaati mused.

At that moment, Link mustered up the last bit of strength and charged at the mage, sword in hand. His sword met air and Vaati was gone, only his voice echoed.

Your ancestor carried the four swords correct? Without that sword, you'll never be able to lay a scratch on me.

Link looked around the room, trying to find where the voice was coming from.

"I may not have the four swords, but that won't stop me from defeating you once and for all!"

A cackle could be heard throughout the room, making everyone look around confused.

You have no chance Link, goodbye for now.

Then the voice was gone, he was gone. Link leaned on the steps for support, feeling the fog vanish from his body. "Is everyone alright?" A guard shouted, taking a minute to check on the King as well.

"I'm alright." Link said, exhausted. He didn't want to believe his daughter was held captive. He thought that she was safe, out in the world exploring as she had always wanted to.

Nothing could have prepared him for this, and he hated himself for it. The king stood up, regaining complete control over his mind and body again.

If things had to be this way, so be it. He would find a way to get back his daughter, and dammed if it took him a lifetime.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily is graced by the presence of her Mother.

The day had been long and tiresome for Lily. Training with the mage had been proven to be very stressful for her. The last session she had nearly died, if it wasn't for some great miracle. Speaking of the mage, she hadn't seen him since yesterday. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but she was grateful anyway. Sighing Lily made her through the desolate halls, not having a particular destination in mind.

"There she is again."

"That blondie? It's amazing how she's still alive."

"Tell me about it, at first glance one would think how a frail girl like her end up here."

Lily looked to where the two voices were located. Spotting a two wizzrobes, a tall lanky one, and a short stocky one, both wearing black robes. Stopping right in front of them, she spoke up.

"I can hear you know?"

The two wizzrobes acknowledged her presence by snickering, the tall one speaking up. "Well, look who decided to join in on the conversation."

Lily stared at the two wizzrobes, arms cross. "I see I'm the main topic of your conversation. Oh, and my name's not 'blondie', it's Lily."

The short one snorted. "So? what brings you outta your room anyway's? aren't you the master's mistress-." The tall one nudged him, snickering.

Lily's mouth went agape, did he just say what I think he said? "I am not his mistress, I'm his apprentice!" she yelled, annoyance building in her head.

"Apprentice? and why would Lord Vaati make you an apprentice?" The tall wizzrobe asked.

Lily didn't feel like explaining it to these two idiots, but she had time to entertain. "I have powers. That's all you need to know."

The two wizzrobes looked to one another, interest piquing on their faces. "Powers eh? care to show us your powers?" the tall one asked.

Oh, she could show her powers alright. "Sure, I can show you."

Summoning a small magic sphere in her hand, she lifted it up to show the two dark-clad wizzrobes. "See?"

"Ohh, would you look at that?" The short one ogled. Lily smirked to herself, flicking her wrist gently so that it could hit the target in front of her. The ball of light shot from her hand and hit the tall wizzrobe, knocking him off his feet.

"Gah!" The tall wizzrobe yelled, scrambled on the floor. The shorter wizzrobe looked from Lily to the wizzrobe on the floor before falling into a fit of laughter.

"What are you laughing at? Help me up here!" The tall one exclaimed. Lily bit her lip to stop from laughing herself. That shows them.

"Oops, I guess I'm still not fully in control of my powers," she said. With that, she wandered off. Leaving the two wizzrobes to recover themselves.

Lily made her way to the entrance outside, taking a moment to stare down at the giant engraving of a single eye on the ground.

Weird that I haven't noticed that before. She felt a low ringing sound began to buzz in her ears. Lily slowly covered her ears, an uncomfortable feeling beginning to creep up. Her vision started to become blurry, fading in and out of distance.

Feeling disorientated, she kneeled down for support. She didn't know what was happening to her, and whatever it was she didn't like it. Suddenly a vision appeared before her, her familiar surroundings disappeared and a new one formed.

Before her, a woman stood. Her regal face held a warm, motherly smile. Long golden locks billowed down her back. A long white dress decorated with intricate designs fell just above her feet.

Lily looked up at the beautiful woman, a sense of unknown familiarity came over her. "I, know you," Lily said, standing up.

The woman looked off to the side, gazing out to the floating clouds. "I know this place far too well."

Lily blinked, she waited for the woman to continue. The woman sighed, the smile returning to her face. "My name...Is Zelda. You must already know that."

A million thoughts ran through Lily's head, she wanted to ask so many questions. "Queen Zelda? then that must mean..." Lily trailed off.

Zelda stepped forward, the wind billowing her long dress. "Yes, you are my daughter."

Lily suddenly remembered the necklace that she always wore, grabbing on to it.

"This necklace...My Nana gave it to me when I was little. She said that you must want me to keep it."

Zelda smiled down at her, before looking away, grief-stricken across her features. "Before my passing, I wanted you to have it. As a remembrance of who you are." She looked up, taking a step forward. "You are in danger, the ancient Wind Mage that holds you hostage is seeking a great power inside you."

Lily's heart skipped a beat. She had already found out about her hidden powers, and she didn't want to explain exactly how she got kidnapped.

"My powers...What does he want from it?" Lily asked.

Zelda sighed, shaking her head. "What he always wants, power. This is why I wanted to keep you away from the castle, I felt the energy of the four sword weaken day by day. I knew once he would break from the seal, his main objective would be to transform Hyrule castle into his evil domain."

Lily looked down, taking in her words. She tried not to blame herself, but she couldn't help it. "I- It's my fault."

Zelda looked at her with compassion, waiting patiently for Lily to continue.

"It's my fault that I'm here. It was my own stupid curiosity that led me to Hyrule fields. I shouldn't have snuck out...I'm sorry." Lily sank down to her knees, hands covering her face. Zelda kneeled down and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"No Lily, It isn't your fault. If you hadn't interrupted his plans, he would have destroyed and taken over Hyrule that same day. You mustn't blame yourself for this."

Lily sniffed, wiping her tears. "Then...What should I do?"

"Whatever you do, you mustn't let him take your light force," Zelda said, her deep cerulean eyes shining with wisdom.

Lily nodded, looking down at her golden pendant necklace. "Thank you."

Zelda smiled, standing up. "I believe my time has grown short. I must depart from here." Lily shakily stood up, turning to face her.

"Farewell, Lily," Zelda said, her figure disappearing.

The surroundings returned to normal, and Lily was once again standing on the engraved eye on the ground.

The sun was setting behind the clouds, how long was she out? Shaking her head, she made her way back into the palace.

Upon entering, she smelled a familiar smell.

Lily made her way to the kitchens, cautiously opening the door and peeking in. She saw Robbie hurry from one steaming pot to another, occasionally ordering a few darknuts to check the roast beef. He finally noticed her.

"Lady Lily? is that you? come, dinner is ready! and this time I prepared a special dish I know you'll love~" Robbie said.

Lily softly smiled, "Is that so? I bet it will be tasty."

Robbie laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head," Yes yes, I try. You, humans, have such diverse taste in food." He said. A flying spoon was suddenly thrown his way.

He quickly dodged it, turning back to Lily he motioned with his hands, "These monsters are so unruly, let's head to the dining hall shall we."


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily demonstrates her magic.

"You did a great job, Robbie." Lily said as she took a spoonful of the flavorful stew. The long table had been filled with plates of delicious-looking food and pastries, the servants graciously set the bowls down, leaving spoons and forks.

"You're most welcome~ oh, and don't forget to try the angel food cake when you're done, it's quite decadent," Robbie said. The door to the dining hall suddenly opened, revealing a yellow clothed wizzrobe. "Am I late?"

Lily looked up from the table to see Lena, walking sheepishly towards the table. "Oh my, you're always late. Here, have a seat right here." Robbie said, ushering her to a seat at the table.

"Let me guess, Master Vaati isn't here?" Lena asked. Lily shift in her seat, not knowing how to answer. "No, I haven't seen him since yesterday."

Lena raised a glass, tentatively bringing it to her lips, "Hmm, I have a feeling he's up to no good."

Lily stirred the spoon in the tea, her thoughts shifting to when he told me about her father. Vaati told her he didn't know the king personally...But I couldn't help but feel nagging anxiety. There was something that he had to be hiding, She just knew it. "Mhm," Lily muttered.

"This cursed keese will be the death of me!" They heard a voice yell.

"What brings you up here Gilard? I thought you vowed to never enter this palace again." Lena snickered.

Gilard waved his cane as if batting imaginary keese. "After all these centuries, keese still haunt these walls. Tell me Lena, has that mage gotten a hold of his liege of monsters?"

Lily stifled a laugh at his mention of keese. Lena sat back in her chair, head tilted back in thought, "I dunno, we all haven't seen him lately. Isn't that right Robbie?"

Robbie looks up from the tea he was pouring, head-nodding frantically. "Yes yes, the Master has been absent."

"I was training with him the other day, then I blacked out and I was in my room again," Lily spoke up. The three of them turned to her, curious expressions forming on their faces.

"Training, you say? what type of training?" Gilard asked.

"Vaati made Lily his apprentice, so he's training her how to use her powers. Pretty self-explanatory." Lena said, tilting her glass.

"Apprentice? well, let's see what the girl has to offer!" Gilard said, his cane raised.

"If Lily's okay with it. She may still be exhausted-"

"No, it's fine." Lily interrupted, standing up from the seat. "I can show you all."

Robbie looked from her to Lena, nervously fiddling his fingers. Lena slowly stood from her seat, arms crossed. "Well, Vaati would kill us if we used your powers in here. Let's go outside."

Gilard huffed, "I would say to hell with the mage, but if you insist. Lead the way, Lena."

They made their way outside, the night air brisk leaving only a cool breeze. Lily gripped her sleeves, "So this is it?" She asked.

They were in a sphere-shaped courtyard, with trees that stood in each corner. the stone walls surrounding every side. 

"Yes, there should be plenty of room in here," Lena said, turning around to face the three of us.

"A-are you sure were allowed here?" Robbie asked, his glowing eye shifting back and forth. Gilard chuckled, holding onto his cane in front of him, "Let's get on with it shall we."

Lily held out her palm and concentrated her energy, making a small magic sphere light up in her hands. Robbie made an 'oh' sound and Lena stood with a surprised expression. 

"Excellent! how could this be?" Gilard exclaimed.

Lily quickly distinguished the ball of magic, looking up to the three of them.

"Lily, I don't think I've asked you this before, but how exactly are you able to wield magic? Hylians aren't able to conjure it up just by their fingertips." Lena spoke up, Robbie nodding in agreement.

"Ahem," she started, not knowing how to start. "Well, you see...". The three of them looked at me expectantly. "I'm kinda the lost heir of Hyrule."


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Link has an endearing flashback. Meanwhile, Vaati found his mission a success.

The bustling crowds of Hyrule castle town were at it's most high at this time of day. The afternoons proved to be most stressful for the dealers selling their item carts, with people rushing about to buy or sell. Among the crowds, a figure cloaked in purple walked about. Their face was covered by a hood and in the palm of their hand, a small bat-winged floating eyeball. "Your quest to scare the King has been a success Master."

The mage smirked to himself, he looked down at the floating sentry, eyes gleaming in ill amusement, "Stealing vessels is my specialty."

His attempt to sneak into the castle and possess the King had gone all according to plan. The look on Link's face had been priceless! Even though he had to admit that he was not expecting the green hat fool to exist in this era, Vaati, of course, was none too pleased with that. Walking through the crowd of civilians, the mage scowled to himself. He hated Hylians with passion.

Even in his Picori days, he would set small traps in the Minnish woods and would wait for any unfortunate soul to step on them. Of course, Ezlo had highly disapproved of this, and all of his fellow apprentices had shunned him for it. Looking back on his conquest for power, he had proven himself to be above those fools in the end.

Vaati felt a tug at the bottom of his cloak, glancing down he saw a small Hylian boy. A toothy grin lit up on the young boy's face, "Excuse me Miss, your really pretty."

The mage stopped in his tracks, staring down at the boy. He was not too keen on being called a woman. Surely this child had a death wish.

Then a devious thought came to him, his hand revealing the sentry from his cloak.

"Master w- what are you-?" the sentry said, blinking in confusion. "The compliment has not been received boy, now begone. " Vaati said, watching the expression on the boy's face when he sees the floating eyeball. "U-hm..." The boy stuttered, eyes glued to the sentry. Vaati nudged the sentry, it blinked once more before looking at the boy in front of them. "Boo?"

"F-freaks!" the boy shouted, turning around swiftly and hurrying in the opposite direction. The mage suppressed the urge to laugh, the sentry in his hand blinking in relief, "Master, that was a close one. The child could have gotten suspicious." Vaati scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Nonsense. Our job here is done, for now, let's go."

The sentry blinked, "Yes Master."

"Isn't this lovely?" Queen Zelda said.

The flowers around them were in full bloom around this time. Spring had always been her favorite time of year, seeing the beautiful colors shine vibrantly.

"If the timing's right, our little one may be an April baby." Link said, his hand resting on her swollen belly.

Words couldn't describe how ecstatic he'd been when he first heard of the news that they would be expecting. Of course, Zelda had been just as excited as he was.

"It's our first child...I have a feeling that it's a girl." Zelda whispered, a faint smile on her face. Whatever reason it was, she just knew that their child was going to be a girl. Link chuckled, squeezing her hand.

"And If we're lucky, she'll grow up to be a wise ruler, like her mother."

Zelda laughed as well, she loved having free time like this. When all of the stress and duties of being a Queen, she always had moments like these that helped soothe her soul. She suddenly frowned, her hand gripping her head.

Link noticed this and put a hand on her cheek, "What is it? Is it the headaches again, another fainting spell?"

Zelda shook her head, a sigh escaping her lips. "No...It's the visions, they've been getting worse lately." Link nodded, watching her distraught face with concerned eyes. "It's the Four Sword, isn't it?"

Zelda opened her eyes, the palm of her hands lightly clenching, "The Four Sword, I feel it's power grows weaker. I don't know how much time-"

"Zelda, you know I will never let anything happen to you, or this Kingdom." Link said, grabbing both her hands. Zelda finally looked him in the eyes, worry slowly fading.

"I know, the visions, the nightmares...It's all frightening sometimes." Link held her close, he hated to see her like this. Though he did not share the same visions, he still understood her fears. He'd just wish she didn't have to suffer in silence. "You know, I wonder how lucky I am to be married to such a brave, unwavering man," Zelda said lightheartedly. Link smiled, pecking her on the cheek.

"And I wonder how I got so lucky to be married to virtuous, loving women." Zelda blushed bashfully, a beautiful smile that made Link fall in love with time and time again. They sat in the garden peacefully, basking in each other's company and forgetting their roles only for just a moment.

"Sire, are you okay?" Link snapped out of his trance, he cursed under his breath for daydreaming in the middle of slaying monsters. "Yes."

"We've killed the remaining of the monsters in this part. We aren't sure exactly where they're coming from yet." A black-haired soldier said.

The King nodded, feeling a little exhausted but relieved. Their expedition to hut down the enemies had been so far successful. He grabbed a map from his pouch, looking over the majority of Hyrule field. "The enemies seemed to have spawned from a specific direction." He stopped, pointing to the south.

"From here, we will head the south border. These monsters, although spawned, can be killed once and for all. Once we know who or what are spawning them." The soldiers all nodded with apprehension, they all set out on their horses.

"Keep information, attack any enemy on site." With that, they all set off to the southern fields. However, the mage's words ringed in the back of the King's head.

He had no idea where that demon held his daughter captive, all he knew was that she was in danger. Without the Four Sword, he had no chance of winning, and he hated that. Link gripped the reins tighter, frustration starting to claw its way in his head. All he could do for now was wait for the right time to strike.

"Wake up Lily."

Lily slowly opened her eyes, wincing at the brightness of the sky and rubbing her eyes. "H-Huh? How did I end up here..."

She rubbed her eyes once more and looked up to see Vaati standing above her, a slightly annoyed expression on his face. "I leave for one day and I find you sleeping on the pavement, tch."

Lily slowly got up, her bones aching from laying on the hard ground. She looked around, instantly realizing where she was. "This is the place I had the vision."

She said, more to herself. Vaati looked at her, raising a curious eyebrow, "What vision?"

The vision with her mother came to her thoughts, her warnings about the light force were still fresh on her mind. "It's nothing. I must've wandered here in my sleep."

The mage stared at her for a moment, a sigh coming from him, "I see. Since we're here. This will be the perfect place for practice, I do hope you've recovered from last time. This time will be much harder."

Lily carefully nodded, not wanting to remember their last session. This time she just hoped she wouldn't actually die. "What's the next lesson."

Vaati walked over to the ledge, casually looking over the edge. The buffeting winds blowing overhead, the mage pointed. "I hope you aren't afraid of heights dear, we're going to be flying."

Lily nearly passed out again.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Link and his troops face Gilard. Meanwhile, Lily gets injured during her training.

The galloping of dozens of horses thundered across Hyrule field, making their way across the vast landscape. Their destination was not too far off, only a few miles. Link winced as the sun ahead of them started to rise, shining a white gleam in their path. The area around them became denser with trees and thick overgrowth, forcing them to form a single line down the narrowed path. "Sire, what is that over there?" Raymond said, a black-haired knight.

Link glanced in acknowledgment before looking towards the source of his attention. In the distance, there was what seemed to be a black purplish portal.

The surrounding of the area was covered in black haze, fog clouds hang low. The riding horsemen halted their horses under the wave of the King's hand, the air was tense with apprehension. Upon a closer look, there were bones scattered on the ground.

Link jumped off his horse, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, "Ready you're weapons, these aren't ordinary bones."

The second in command, Raymond, glanced at the knights behind him and nodded. They all began to disembark from their horses and took a cautious step towards the portal.

"Kehahaha!"

Link and the knights looked at each other with confusion, puzzled by the laugh that came out of the blue. Then, out of a portal flew a wizzrobe.

"What is it?" One of the knights asked.

Raymond drew his sword and got into a defense position, having seen these types of creatures before. "Get back, these things are very tricky."

The bones on the ground started to shake, shifting and tumbling upwards. What appeared before they were Skeletor like monsters with machetes in each hand.

The stalfos began to shuffle towards them, ready to kill. "I see you've might stumble across my monsters." The wizzrobe said.

Link narrowed his eyes at the strange being, taking note of its gaudy clothing. "Who are you?" The wizzrobe pointed it's cane to itself, "My name is Gilard, a pleasure to meet you, your Majesty." Gilard said mockingly.

Raymond raised his shield as one of the stalfos drew nearer, "What business do you have with the King!"

Gilard chuckled, "I have no business with the King, you all just so happened to be unlucky."

The stalfos slashed forward, it's machete missing Raymond by an inch. He leaped out of the way and made a quick slice, cutting it in half with his sword. The other knights joined in the melee, metal clashing against metal.

Link looked behind him just in time to see a stalfos aim for his head. He quickly dodged it and rolled on the ground, turning to face it he stabbed the stalfos in the chest. "Watch yourselves!"

One particular stalfos had a knight up by the chainmail, the knight struggling in its grasp to free himself. Raymond dodged another swinging machete and sliced the stalfos feet, making it crumble to the ground and dropping the knight.

Link pulled out his bow and arrows, taking aim on the wizzrobe that called himself 'Gilard'.

His arrow flew loose and as soon as it was near its target, it was deflected. Link pulled down the bow, "What?"

"You forget we wizzrobes have magic, even greater than you Hylians. Such waste of arrows." Gilard said haughtily.

Link began to grow frustrated, he had an encounter with one or two wizzrobes in his lifetime but he's never seen one this powerful. "Your Majesty, look out!" A voice yelled from behind.

He quickly sidestepped out of the way from an attack, he winced as he felt a slice on his right arm. Ignoring the stinging pain on his forearm, he swung his sword at the stalfos that attacked him.

He looked up to see if the knights were doing alright, and it looked as if most of the stalfos were defeated. "Are you all right?" He turned around to see Raymond, his second in command. He let out a sigh and nodded. "There's still more to be done."

Raymond grunted in approval, "We have to destroy those portals, how, I'm not so sure."

All around them were bones of the enemies, their scattered fragments beginning to disintegrate into dust. The knights all had tired looks on their faces, having been put up a good fight. A clap was heard in the distance, everyone looked up to see Gilard. "Well done you all, you put up quite the fight."

Link and Raymond both grabbed their swords, ready for any sneak attack this wizzrobe had to offer. "That was a fun playfight, but I must say I grow bored of these theatrics. It's time for the real fun to start." Gilard said, snapping his fingers.

Instinctively the knights raised their shields, waiting apprehensively. The ground beneath them began to rumble, shaking with such intensity that it could be felt vibrating their teeth. The earth cracked, tearing into tiny pieces until the ground finally gave way and tore apart. A low growl began to emanate from below, a large claw shot up from the earth, lava-spewing everywhere like rain.

"Use your shields!" Link yelled, covering himself with his own.

Another claw shot up from the earth, followed by a large scaly tail. The tail began to lash to the right, catching a few of the knights off guard and sending them tumbling back. Raymond cursed under his breath, some of the lava had sprayed his hand. He quickly moved to the side as the scaly tail flickered his way.

A big, reptilian-like face rose from the lava, its eyes opening to reveal slit eyes. It's mouth slowly opened, a heat emitting from the back of its throat as fire blasted forth, flaying everything in sight. The knights raised their shields as fast as they could, the scorching of the flames hitting the top of their helmets.

Link rummaged through his pouch of items, looking for his trusty bombs. His hand skimmed over a smooth surface and grabbed the safety handle of the bomb. He ducked over to a small boulder and took a deep breath, pulling out his bow and aiming for the giant dodongo's mouth.

The bomb flew from the arrow to the creature's mouth and landed inside, it's body going stiff as the bomb went off. A loud roar came from the monster, it's body finally went limp. "Now's our chance!" someone yelled. All at once, the knights charged forward and slashed the dodongo's tail.

Link readied another arrow, this time aiming for its abdomen. The bomb exploded as soon as it made contact with the dodongo, leaving it screeching until life left its eyes. Raymond fell back when the bomb sounded, falling to the ground and taking cover.

Everyone's ears rung rather painfully as they got up and recovered. Dust and smoke hung over the air and in the middle, the carcass of the giant dodongo. "Look! the portal has disappeared!" a knight shouted.

Link looked over to where the portal once was to find out it did indeed vanish. He went over to the bushes and found his horse, pulling her reigns.

"We can't stick around here, the ground beneath us won't last to carry our weight."

The Knights followed suit and found their horses. Raymond rode next to the King, his face written with exhaustion. " Where do we go from here?"

Link looked at his map, taking note of all the red dots he's made that speculated the warp points were. "From here, we follow what's in red. We'll head north."

Link noticed Raymond's hand was burnt, he rummaged through his pouch and found a potion. "Use this."

Raymond reluctantly accepted the potion, taking off the cork and dripping some over his wound. He grimaced a little when the liquid made contact with his burnt wound. Link's horse neighed, he maneuvered her so that they would be in front.

"We're heading north from here, let's go." With that, he rode forth with his men following in suite.

"A-am I doing this correctly?"

Lily was scared half out of her wits. She was balancing on a clear, bubble-shaped object floating in the air. She just prayed to the Goddesses that this lesson would be over soon enough.

"I'm surprised you've managed to keep afloat, you're shaking like a leaf." Vaati mused. He snapped his fingers and the bubble beneath her popped, making her shriek out.

However, Lily didn't feel herself falling, instead, she felt weightlessness. She peeked open an eye and saw that she was floating, apparently with the from the mage.

"I um- thanks."

"No need to thank me, that part is over. This will be much difficult." Vaati replied. Two of each sentry appeared on each side of him, their eyes starting to glow red.

Lily stared at the four of them, her magic fizzling in her hand as she waited for them to shoot. A red beam shot out from their eyes one by one. She swept to the side and threw her arms up, creating a weak force field.

One of the lasers had cut the side of her skirt, tearing some of the fabric. She flung some of her magic at one of the sentries, hitting it directly in the eye.

Lily smirked as its form disappeared. One down, three more to go.

One of the sentries flew behind her and shot a laser directly. She gasped as the impact of the laser scorched the surface of her skin. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, she summoned her shield at the last minute to keep the laser from penetrating further.

The two sentries flew in front of her, ready to fire another laser beam. Lily covered herself with a full force field, hoping it wouldn't disintegrate on her. She conjured up all the energy that she had in her fist, hoping to blast the three sentries to bits.

When the lasers stopped, Lily dropped her force field and threw out her arms. The blast of her magic hitting the three sentries like a wave and thus, destroying them.

Lily opened her eyes and looked around her, sighing in relief that the sentries were gone. She looked down at herself, realizing that she had numerous holes in her top as well as a gaping hole on her skirt. Great.

"Well done, you've won a four on one fight. Impressive." The mage said. If Lily could bow, she would've if she weren't floating in mid-air. "Are we done? " Lily said tiredly.

Vaati waved his arm, turning around. "Yes, come on." Upon landing on the pavement, Lily instantly collapsed on her legs. The fight had pushed her a little past her limit, and all she wanted to do was rest.

She felt a hand place itself above the wound on her back, she glanced behind to see him. "You're injured," he deadpanned.

She winced in pain as he placed a fairy orb on her wound, calming down immediately when she felt it's cooling healing effect. "Thanks." She muttered.

Vaati stood up, watching her with narrowed eyes. "Can you stand up?"

Lily took a breath and tried moving her legs, but her muscles would not act accordingly and she slumped back down. "No."

She heard him sigh in mild annoyance then felt his arms lifting her up, and off her feet. "Next time it would be wise not to use up all of you're energy." The mage huffed, carrying her inside.

Lily glanced down, feeling too tired to mutter a contort back. "Whatever." She whispered.

The mage raised an eyebrow down at her but continued walking. He saw Robbie in the distance, who immediately hurried towards them when seeing the state of Lily.

"Oh my, what's happened?" He asked worriedly. Vaati continued walking, not bothering to stop. "She's burnt out."

Robbie paused but caught up with him.

They made it to her bedroom and Vaati carefully set her down on her bed. Lily was fast asleep, her chest rising and falling. He placed the back of his on her forehead, the skin feeling hot and clammy.

"She has a fever." Vaati turned around to Robbie, "Stay here and watch her." Robbie, flustered, nodded eagerly. "Yes, master." With that, the mage exited the room, his cape billowing behind him.


	20. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Palace of Winds suddenly gets invaded by Poes.

Lily's sleeping form tossed and turned in the bed. A distressed look on her face as she dreamt, her breath becoming haggard.

You're stuck here Lily.

The lost princess...How tragic.

Your father will never find you.

A loud crash was heard from outside Lily's room, waking her up from the nightmare she was having.

"W-what?" She muttered, startled, and dazed.

A vase beside her bed began to move and wiggle, catching her attention. Lily clutched the covers close to her as she watched in apprehension, staring wide-eyed at the vase. The vase wiggles over and breaks it hit the ground, a familiar brown and white creature laying there. 

"Pippin, you scared me!" Lily exclaimed, resting her head back on the bed board.

"Kew, there's something scary out there." Pippin proceeds to cower on the floor, his little form quivering. Lily looked at Pippin, a confused look on her face.

She tried to move her body, but her limbs ached. Sighing she sat back down, her head spinning with fever. "W-what do you mean there's something-"

Just as Lily was about to finish her sentence, a shrill inhuman screech was heard outside in the halls. Lily froze in her spot, covering her mouth and not daring to make another sound.

Dark, cloaked, shadowy beings made their way inside the floating palace. Their silhouettes moving slowly through the corridors, lanterns in their hands. A group of patrolling monsters walked around the corner, unaware of the intruding figures in front of them.

The torch in their hands swinging left and right as they surveyed the area. Then, as soon as the light lit the way in front of them, they saw a flash of black. One by one, each of the patrolling monsters was struck down. A loud screech was heard, then silence.

The shadowy figures made a high pitched crackling sound, then four of them split down separate halls, intending to cause more havoc.

"Ah, so I see you've had a rundown with the King," Vaati said, sitting lazily across his throne with a bubble in his hand.

A chuckle was heard from the other end, "Yes, indeed. I must say, they put up an honorable fight. Although I left at the good part..." Gilard trails off.

The mage raised an eyebrow, "Oh? do tell."

Gliard began to clear his throat, ready to proceed with his tale. When the torches in the room suddenly went out, a low cackle was heard. Vaati paused, then let out an annoyed sigh. "I'm afraid I'll have to listen another time." With that, he popped the bubble.

In the distance, a monster came crawling towards the throne. It's mangled body barley supporting as it crawled with all its strength.

"M-my Lord, t-there has been an attack in the p-palace." It stuttered out. The mage sat up tiredly, "What do you mean an attack, and what happened to you?"

Just before he could get a reply, a blast of magic flew through the hall. Hitting the injured monster and killing it on the spot. Vaati stared at the corpse, a sudden realization hit him. "Poes."

In the kitchens, Robbie was humming to himself. Gleefully preparing tea and chicken soup. "Lady Lily will love this!"

A shadowy flash passed by the kitchen, making Robbie do a double-take. Suddenly a loud crash was heard nearby, followed by a monster being blasted nearby. It's body crumbled to the ground, defeated.

Robbie froze as he heard the commotion, holding onto the spoon he was stirring and clutching to his chest. "Oh dear.," Robbie muttered fearfully. A loud cackle was heard nearby, making Robbie duck near the door and out of view. Another crash was heard, but this time it sounded closer. This time he caught the sight of one of the intruders, its shadowy fleeing as it was being chased.

Then it blew out of sight, it's figure disappearing. At that moment Robbie dropped the spoon he was holding, the piece of silver falling loud on the ground.

Robbie froze on spot, hearing footsteps walking towards the kitchen.

"Gah!"

A pale hand quickly shot over Robbie's mouth, catching him off guard. "Shh, they'll hear us with your infernal yelling," Vaati stated, removing his hand.

Robbie let out a sigh of relief, glad that his master was alright. "I was just taking this to Lily when I heard this awful commotion."

The mage paused at hearing Lily's name as if forgetting that she even there. He stood abruptly, staring hard at the door, "Stay here, don't move until I've dealt with them all."

Robbie looked up at him and nodded frantically. "Y-yes my Lord."

Vaati levitated from the ground and flew in the direction of Lily's room. That brat had better stay where she is.

Immediately a Poe came out of nowhere and slashed its way towards him. Vaati cursed under his breath, moving out of the way and sending a wind blast its way.

The Poe shrieked out and flew back, nearly knocking over a chandelier. It recovered its balance and started circling the mage, intending to throw him off. Vaati kept his gaze on the Poe, waiting for its next move.

The Poe then split itself into four and began to circle him again, intent on throwing him off. A scythe was swiped his way, he immediately dodged it and conjured up an attack of his own. Where did these dammed Poes come from?

Vaati's attack hit one of the Poes directly, sending it flying back once more and killing it.

The three other Poes vanished after the fourth one, their bodies vanishing into the air. The mage then made haste to Lily's room, not bothering to open the door but instead blasting the door down.

Immediately he noticed that she wasn't there, instead, a shoe lay on the ground. Vaati slowly made his way to the shoe and picked it up, staring at the jewel-encrusted center.

Quite frankly, he didn't know what to feel. He let out a frustrated breath and ran a hand through his hair. The mage didn't want to admit it, but he was beginning to feel...concerned for her safety?

Great, now he had a headache.

Suddenly he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He turned to see a furry creature wobble out from under the bed, it's beady eyes half-covered as if peaking.

"You! do you know where that girl has run off to?" Vaati asked. Pippin jumped as he saw the imposing mage address him, "T-they took her."

Vaati pinched the bridge of his nose, not believing that this stupid girl couldn't bother to use her powers to defend herself. 

A scream suddenly pierced the air that sounded like it was right outside. He ran outside of the room, only to find nothing.

The mage scowled and flew into the halls of the palace, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. The scream sounded again, this time in the opposite direction.

Vaati cursed, retracting and following the direction of the scream. Wherever those dammed Poe were, he was going to make sure they paid.

He made it outside to one of the courtyards. He immediately saw four of the Poes, and they had Lily in their grasp.

The mage narrowed his eyes. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?" he asked. Lily put her head down, not looking him in the eye.

One of the Poes held it's scythe to her throat while letting out a wicked laugh. Vaati crossed his arms, seemingly not bothered by the state of affairs.

"V-Vaati, please." Lily stuttered, looking terrified. The air began to circulate around them, picking up and slowly growing.

A dark glint gleamed in the mages eye, "Close your eyes."

Lily nodded and closed her eyes shut.

The Poes that held her sensed the threat that came from the mage and charged towards him, two on the right and two on the left. Vaati stood there calmly before throwing out his arms, letting out a blast of air. The Poes had no time to retract.

The wind around them whipping them back and forth until they vanished into plain sight. Lily fell to her knees, feeling weak from her fever and shielding herself from the fierce wind.

As the last Poe died, the winds started to calm down. Vaati walked over to Lily's kneeling form, an unreadable expression on his face.

Without a word, he kneeled down and kissed her on the forehead. 

Lily glanced up at him, eyes wide at the unexpected affection. Then, for whatever reason, she began to feel tears run down her cheeks. 

"Don't do that again, you foolish girl."

Lily couldn't bring herself to reply, instead, she weakly nodded. She then felt herself being pulled into an embrace.

Neither of them said anything for the moment or did anything. Lily didn't know what the sudden change of demeanor was about. She was thankful he didn't leave her to the poes mercy.

"Vaati, I-" Lily started.

"You have a fever, we're going back to your room. No questions." Before she could say anything, she felt herself being scooped up.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Link acquires the Four sword and gets it renewed.

The chill night air was warmed by a bright fire in the middle of a clearing. Link and his soldiers had spent the entire day searching for a warp point but to no avail. They had stopped to take a break along the edge of Castor Wilds, hoping to catch rest before sunrise.

"That demon...He says he had my daughter somewhere, although I don't know where." Link stated.

They were all sitting around the fire, some were cleaning off their swords from the earlier fight. Raymond, who sat a little way's from Link, decided to speak up.

"There's an old legend of an ancient wind demon from long ago. They say that the demon stole the home of a race called the wind tribe." Raymond threw some wood into the fire, then continued. "Their home was supposedly in the sky, far from civilization. Maybe...That's where he's taken her."

Link stopped polishing his sword and instead, stared at his reflection. "The real question is how do we get up there." He stood up, turning to Raymond, "Thank you for sharing, I did not know this."

Raymond half-smiled, offering a consoling arm, "We'll find a way up there, he can't hide her forever." Link nodded in understanding, grateful for his friend's optimism.

He then stood in front of the group, "We'll rest here for a while until early morning. There we will head to the Four sword sanctuary, I have something I need to retrieve there." The soldiers grunted in agreement, continuing cleaning their weapons.

"That fight from earlier today was pretty tough, I almost lost my right arm to that giant Dodongo." One soldier said.

"I still don't know how we survived that, thank Hylia." another soldier added.

Raymond sat nearby, followed by Link. They both sat in silence for a minute, each of them in their own thoughts. "Do you remember that time...When you were training under my wing. We were both sparring, and you were at the peak of your skills. I kept talking and talking and was so distracted, I didn't see you swing at me." Link paused, chuckling to himself, he continued. "I almost lost my eye that day."

Raymond chuckled, leaning back and gazing at the stars above them. "I admit, I was mad at you that day. Your reaction was pretty comical though."

Link laughed lightheartedly, "You took me completely by surprise that day." The two of them laughed. The feeling of genuine laughter felt foreign to them really. They were on a serious mission, and things couldn't have been any more serious until now. It honestly felt good to laugh during such a crucial time.

As the sun slowly began to rise in the cool morning air, the troop began to prepare their horses. Link went over to a small pond and squatted down, cupping a handful of water and splashing it on his face.

"I've marked some dots on where I think there may be some spawn points." Raymond's voice was heard.

Feeling refreshed, Link stood up and turned to Raymond, "That's great, we'll head to the nearest one after the sanctuary."

The troops had all of their horses set and ready, gathering their weapons and pouches. Link, with his horse, rode up to the center of the clearing. "The Four sword shrine is supposed to be North from here. Let's head out."

With that being said, the King and his troops rode out of the clearing to the North.

The morning air was crisp and fresh. Droplets of dew hung from nearby trees and birds chirped and sung. Link and his troops stopped along the grass leading to the entrance of the sanctuary. The stone walls were cracked and worn out over the centuries of exposure to wildlife.

Link walked over to the entrance and was instantly hit with a sense of deja vu. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt as if he's been here before.

Walking into the structure was no easy feat. There were countless rubble and shrubs of overgrowth that blocked the path. He made his way further into the sanctuary until he found what could be a pedestal of some sort. Link winced as he evaded the sharp thorns of overgrowth, carefully stepping over them.

He finally made it to a grassy clearing. Immediately noticing the large engraving of an eye right above a pedestal. Link paused for a moment, suddenly overcome by flashes in his head. Visions that were unfamiliar to him started to become more vivid.

Shaking the strange feeling off, he slowly walked towards the broken sword that lay on the ground, observing it's broken state. He picked up the sword carefully and placed it in his sash. Looking around him, he realized he wanted nothing more than to get out of this shrine. It gave him the creeps.

Upon exiting the shrine he heard a loud rumble. Turning around he saw that the shrine itself was falling apart at the seams.

The Four sword sanctuary was collapsing.

Raymond got off his horse and walked up to where Link was, he too, did not know what was happening. "The sword can be fixed." Link said quietly.

Raymond stared at the shrine, which was now reduced to rubble. "How can it be fixed?"

Link sighed, turning to his second in command, "The Great Fairy."

Raymond stared at him, confused. Surely there couldn't be another way?

As they headed back to their troops, Link couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. He hopped on his horse, "I know you've all heard tales of a Great fairy living in a remote fountain somewhere." Link started, making sure he had everyone's attention. "I have the Foursword with me now, however, it is broken. I believe the Great fairy will fix it."

Looks of bewilderment crossed the faces of the troops. Some were nodding in agreement. "I know where the location resides in. I have visited there once many years ago." Link continued.

Raymond joined next to Link on his horse, "We should head there before afternoon, the stalfos may get in our way." Link checked his map and pointed to where they needed to go, "The fountain is located near the Zora falls, let's get going."

The sound of a waterfall sounded nearby. There was a flowing stream right below the edge of a ledge.

Zora falls was a large waterfall between two boulders high above the ground. The fountain was just behind the waterfall.

Disembarking from his horse Link surveyed the area before him. "Raymond, I want you to accompany me."

Link had fond memories of this place in his younger days. He remembered the first time he visited the fountain and accidentally stumbling upon the mystical fountain.

He pulled a piece of weed from the ground and put it to his lips. A soft beautiful tune started to play through. Raymond watched as the waterfall began to open up before them.

The body of water separated to reveal a cavern-like entrance. "Amazing," Raymond muttered to himself.

They entered the dimly lit cavern, the walls were lined up with chandeliers of lanterns hanging. In the center of the cavern was a pool of glistening clear water.

Link walked up to the water, his reflection was not seen. Raymond waved a hand over the water, his reflection was also not seen. "That's strange," Raymond said, scratching his head.

Link smiled, this place never got old for him.

He played a different tune this time, playing his beloved's theme instead. Hearing this tune made his heartache, but he had to keep strong for the sake of this kingdom.

A boisterous female laugh was heard from the depths of the water.

Then right before their eyes, a beautiful giant woman emerged from the pool. The woman in front of them was a sight to see. Green ivy-covered her ivory body like a second skin, leaving almost nothing to be imagined. Her long bright burgundy hair floated around her, a wide grin striking her countenance.

Raymond stood beside him in awe, his mouth slightly agape.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of having the King of Hyrule visit my domain?" Her voice was like silk, graceful yet powerful.

Link removed the broken sword from his pouch and placed it before him. "This is the Foursword that I have taken from its shrine. An ancient demon has escaped from this sword and broke it in half."

The woman's sea-green eye's lit up in interest. Looking down at the broken sword in his hands. "Can this sword be mended?" Link asked.

The woman levitated the sword into the palm of her hands. "After all this time, you question my divine powers, silly boy?" She said with amusement in her voice, her eyes twinkling.

Link laughed a little, scratching the back of his head. Raymond chuckled under his breath. "Now, let's see what we can do." The Great fairy said.

Link and Raymond watched in anticipation.

The sword began to glow a bright white color. The woman smiled widely as it levitated from her hand, watching as the two halves began to form. The broken Foursword mended together, becoming a new sword once again.

Link held out his hand as the Foursword went to him. He lifted the sword up high in the air. Once again he felt a wave of nostalgia rush through him, he felt as though he held it before.

A warm laugh interrupted his thoughts. Looking up he saw the giant woman gazing down at him. "Easy as pie. That wasn't so hard wasn't it?"

Link smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your help."

Raymond let a sigh of relief, thankful that the sword was renewed.

"No need to thank me, anything for the royal family." The woman winked. Then she let out a boisterous cackle, her body spinning into the depths of the water until she was out of sight.

Link stared at the sword in his hands, not believing that he had it in its full glory. He thanked Hylia for it.

Raymond put a hand on his shoulder, "With that sword, we may have a chance at finally defeating that sorcerer. Your daughter can finally be saved soon."

Link was filled with determination and overflowing confidence, he felt invincible now. He walked over to the entrance, "We're done here."

They both exited the fountain.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Vaati shares a gruesome bedtime story with Lily.

Being on mandatory bed rest was not at all pleasant for Lily.

It had been about three days since she had fallen ill, and her fever seemed to take its sweet time running its course. Moving a limb at this point was the equivalent to moving underwater. Not to mention the nauseating dizziness that overtook her whenever she dared to stand up.

Lily licked her chapped lips, her head falling back on the pillow. She hated feeling this helpless. Her memories instantly going back to last night, when the poes invaded the palace. She wanted to explain to him that she couldn't use her powers, no, she needed to tell him that.

Lily's eyes fluttered to the left of her bedside, where the mage sat with his nose in a book. Annoyance quickly filled her senses.

He hadn't spoken a word to her since last night, and it bothered her a great deal. Lily quite couldn't put her finger on it, but something about the way he sat beside her bedside, unflinching, made her want to fling that book he was reading right from his hands. They had been in this room for about at least 15 hours, and he acted as if she wasn't there.

This infuriated Lily.

What was that kiss supposed to mean? When she had been captured by the poes, Vaati looked as if he wanted to kill her right there. But he didn't.

Not only that but his demeanor had suddenly changed as if the whole ordeal didn't happen!

Lily clenched and unclenched her fist. No, that kiss wasn't supposed to mean anything...right? It's not like he kissed her on the lips or anything, heavens no. A simple peck on the forehead.

It wasn't that simple for Lily.

At the moment he had done it, apart of her felt relieved. Relived that he hadn't chosen to murder her of course. Perhaps, she had hoped that he wouldn't continue to be a douche to her. Stupid wishful thinking.

"There will be no more training for you until your fever goes down," Vaati said, not looking up at her.

"Why did you kiss me?" Lily blurted, instantly feeling regretful that she did.

There was a long pause, neither of them moved or did anything.

Then there was a sigh that escaped the mage's lips. "It served no personal purpose. You shouldn't worry about it."

Silence.

Lily stared at the mage. Shouldn't worry about it?

She searched for any type of emotion in his eyes. She saw nothing.

She opened her mouth to say something but closed it reluctantly. It was the response that was expected. In her mind, she didn't know how to process the unexpected affection. It was simply a misunderstanding on her part.

Lily felt a wet rag being placed against her forehead. She glanced up to see Vaati, looking more concentrated on the rag than her.

The coolness from the rag gave some temporary relief. Lily let out the breath she was holding in.

The mage removed the wet rag and placed it on the nearby table. "Would you like to hear a story?" He asked, sitting back down.

Lily nodded her head, anything to distract her from the splitting headache.

"I should warn you though, it's not for the faint of heart," Vaati warned.

There once was a child, a small boy, who was lost in the world. He was orphaned, with no family or a home. This wandering child was time after time rejected by the people he came too close to. Adults would offer him a place to stay for a night and when he would finally start to get comfortable, he was thrown into the streets. The boy knew no love or affection."

He often sat in a corner of a stray building, and watch as other children went along their way. They laughed and played, unaware of the watchful gaze of the lonely child. Many days and nights would pass as the boy wandered from town to town. On one cold night, when everyone was asleep and hadn't dared to out into the storm. The boy had stumbled into the woods far from the safety of the town.

After hours of trekking through the forest, he collapsed from near exhaustion. In the distance, he saw an odd-looking statue placed seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

The child gathered the last bit of his strength and stumbled near the statue. Fear began to creep its way into the boy's heart as he looked into the disfigured face of the statue. The statue seemed to stare back.

The forest around him started to become a haze. The wind picking up and blowing harshly against his skin.

Time felt like it was beginning to stop. The wind became unmistakable whispers. The boy looked up at the statue, only for him to realized that the statue now had human eyes.

Before the child could scream, the statue before him began to emanate a foul odor. The smell could only be described as rotting sulfur.

The smell paralyzed the child with nausea and terror. A low voice was heard inside the boy's head. The voice whispered, Three wishes...For the needy.

The child looked up at the statue to realize it's crooked mouth had not moved, nor spoke.

The voice spoke again, this time more clear. Three wishes come with a price.

The boy was certain it was talking to him. He closed his eyes and thought hard. He made his decision. He did not know what 'price' meant, he wished anyway.

The first wish, he wished for a home.

The second wish, he wished to be warm.

The third one, he wished to have a family.

As he made those wishes, the air around him came to a halt. The eyes of the statue glowed a white light that almost blinded the child. Quickly, the child covered his eyes.

Then as soon as it started, the light was gone. The boy opened his eyes to see that the statue was gone. Though out of the corner of his eye he saw that the statue had reappeared in a different spot.

To the boy's horror, however, the once disfigured face of the statue had now turned into a replica of him.

The child's face went white, he sprinted out of the desolate forest as fast as his legs could handle. His stomach lurched and he stopped to empty the contents of his stomach onto the ground.

Once the boy recovered, he saw that he was in the presence of a small abandoned house.

Weak with dehydration, the boy stumbled inside of the musty old house, finding a blanket on the floor. He stumbled to grab it and with tired hands, he covered himself with it. Succumbing to a deep slumber quickly.

A nearby tavern housed drunken men stumbling about and stirring the nearby neighbor's trouble. They were kicked out by the tavern owner's daughter, who had had enough of their drunken flirtation. The group of drunken men grabbed torches and made their way across town. Eventually stumbling across the old abandoned house that the boy resided in.

Angry for being rejected by the tavern owner's daughter, one of the men threw the torch at the house. The others soon joined in, and one by one, they threw their torches at the house. Gleeful faces watched as the fire quickly spread, scorching the earth as it did.

The men saw that the fire grew out of control, and they began to flee from the scene.

Inside the house, the boy slept, unaware of the dilemma that had transpired. All that mattered to him, was that he was warm and safe from the night's harsh cold.

That warmth began to emanate all around him, enclosing on all sides. He was in heaven. He had never been so warm.

The ground beneath him blistered and scorched, his fingers turned black.

The air was no longer breathable, only smoke and dust were left as oxygen. The smoke tainted his throat.

By this time the house was an inferno. The roof fell and crushed the stairs beneath it. It was enough to wake the sleeping child.

In a state of unbearable agony, the child could not process what was happening. In this state of shock, he fainted.

Unbeknownst to him, a middle-aged couple had seen the smoke billowing into the sky. They quickly made their way over to where it was coming from. They saw a house on fire.

In a panicked state, the man told the woman to stay behind and rushed inside the flame stricken house. Desperate to find any survivors.

Avoiding the flames the man came into a clearing where he saw a small body laying unmoving on the floor.

Realizing that he was running out of time, the man scooped up the body. Ignoring that he too was being burnt.

The woman waited anxiously outside, waiting for her husband to return safely. Alas, she saw a figure running towards her with a child in their arms.

The woman's husband collapsed with the child in his arms. The child was still alive miraculously.

The next morning, the child woke up in a bed. Several figures hovered above him that he did not recognize. The boy lifted his hand to see that it was charred, unrecognizable.

The boy saw that there were other children in the room. Two boys and a girl. They stared at him, not in spite, but sympathy.

The couple looked at each other then back at the boy. They assured him that he was okay and that he was out of harm's way. They would take care of him.

The boy, despite having third-degree burns and no voice, disabled beyond return, had what he wanted. A family.

At this point, Lily had free tears running down her cheeks. Not bothering to wipe them, she looked up at the mage.

"What is that story called?"

"The silent child." The mage answered, getting up to grab the rag on the nearby table.

He placed it gently on her head, his gaze meeting hers briefly.

"Your fever has decreased over the past hour. I suppose this is a sign that you should recover in a day or two."

Lily smiled a bit. She was relieved that she was no longer going to be bedridden.

The mage stood up, "If your feeling better, would you like anything to eat from the kitchens?"

Lily nodded, her stomach growling as if on cue. "Y-yes, anything would be fine thank you."

The mage exited the room.

Lily sighed and rested her head back on the pillow. Wait.

This is the first time that Vaati himself has brought her food. He usually fetches Robbie to come and bring her food. Whatever the case, it probably doesn't mean anything significant.

That story, The silent child. It reminded her of her own circumstances. At home, she barely left her house. Due to her Nana being so overprotective. When she was little, she wished that she could have more freedom.

She remembered wanting to go out and explore what was beyond Castle town. On her eighteenth birthday, she had finally got her wish. It wasn't before long, however, that her life changed in a blink of an eye. In the end, she had to pay the price of wanting freedom.

Her father would be ashamed of her, of what became of her.

Lily shook her head. No, her father didn't even know of her existence...Right?

She was sure of it.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the sorceress Lena, is ordered to stall Link.

Heels clicked against marble floors as a tall, yellow garbed wizzrobe made their way to the main hall. Lena had been ordered to go down to the fields and 'take care' of an imposing threat. Whatever imposing threat it was, it sure didn't seem to be showing itself anytime soon.

The tall wizzrobe took a sharp turn to the left, intending to give Lord Vaati a piece of her mind. It wasn't before long that she stopped in her tracks and suddenly remembered. Oh, that's right, she couldn't see him right now.

There had been rumors all over the palace of Lily falling ill, which of course, Lena already knew of.

Lord Vaati had barely been seen around the palace for the past three and a half days. Already, the palace was beginning to fall apart. To her utter annoyance, however, Lord Vaati had firmly stated that no one was to be in charge. Not even poor Robbie, his close 'assistant'.

Lena chuckled under her breath, this mission that she had been ordered to go on sounded like a true shit show. Lucky her.

Releasing a sigh, she turned on her heels and decided it would be best to confront him later.

"Ah Lena, there you are!"

What now?

Low and behold, it was Gilard's voice, and boy did she not have the time for him right now.

"Ah, Gilard, how nice it is to see you up here."

A haggard laugh came from the old wizzrobe. That's right, laugh it up to you old coot.

"I suppose Lord Vaati is still with that girl...Lily eh?"

"Yes"

"Then I presume you're off to deal with those pesky Hylians." Gilard mused.

"Yes"

With that Lena went to move past him, having grown impatient.

"I should warn you, dear Leana, don't underestimate their capabilities. They're quite the experienced bunch."

Experienced bunch?

Lena scoffed. Whatever the problem was it would be dealt with quickly, she didn't have the time for this.

"I still can't believe it." Link said to himself, staring a the sword in its sheath.

Raymond heard this and glanced toward him, "Is it the sword?"

Link sighed, the horse he rode on neighing a bit. "Hush Epona."

Finally, Link spoke up, "I just can't wrap my head around it. Why did the Four Sword sanctuary collapse?"

Raymond pondered the question for a while, "Maybe there was no use for it anymore, I mean, you have the Four swords. Not only that but you were able to get it repaired."

He had a point, Link just wasn't able to comprehend it all though. So many things were happening at once.

He chuckled, "Yeah, maybe that's it."

Link took out the map from his pouch, rolling it out and staring at it.

"It looks like we're close to our destination. I've been hearing some of the townfolk saying that they've seen poes come from this direction."

Both were engaged in the map until suddenly there was a bright light emanating in front of them.

Link and Raymond shielded their eyes from the blinding light. What the hell was that?

The flash seemed to last forever. The soldiers that were not too far behind them were also affected.

"I didn't expect it to be a bunch of soldiers as the imposing threat Lord Vaati was rambling about. I at least expected it to be one of Helmaroc King's minions." They heard a voice say.

Link was the first to recover from the headache-inducing light. He groaned and blinked open his eyes to see a female wizzrobe garbed in yellow.

"Who are you?" Link managed through his teeth.

Raymond managed to open his eyes to see what Link saw, slowly he unsheathed his sword.

Lena uncrossed her arms, smirking. "I'm Lena."

Link Leaped from his horse and began to approach the wizzrobe.

"Link wait-" Raymond called out.

Link stopped, his hands balling into a fist.

"Where is Lily."

Lena tilted her head to the side as if observing him more closely. Ah, so that was it.

She let out a soft chuckle, "I see, the resemblance is uncanny. Nice to meet you, your Majesty."

"Lord Vaati didn't tell me much about you, but I'm afraid I have to go by his orders and eliminate you."

Raymond studied Lena, he didn't like this at all. He hopped off his horse and joined Link's side.

"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get." Link said, in a full stance.

Lena merely sighed, snapping her fingers, "Well, let's get this over with shall we?"


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lily has a reality check.

Lily was finally starting to feel herself again. Of course, the first thing she wanted to do was get out of that godforsaken room she had been confined to.

She carefully stretched her limbs and stood up from the bed, looking at her poor reflection in the vanity mirror. Din, she looked ghastly. She wasn't one to be the vain type, but she was in serious need of a good hair brushing.

Lily slowly made her way to the vanity and sat down, in the distance, she could hear Vaati talking to Robbie.

Vaati leaned against the wall, a worn but stern look on his face, "She's recovered." That's all the mage uttered and left a relived looking Robbie behind.

Robbie quickly bowed and hurried into Lily's room, where he saw her looking relatively somber. "Thank Din you are finally well! Oh dear, I was beginning to worry." He exclaimed.

Lily glanced towards Robbie, a small smile forming on her face, "I'm fine, really." She stood up, addressing him, "How has the palace managed? I'm sure it must've been hard without the boss around."

Robbie heaved an exasperated sigh, twiddling his thumbs, "Oh my, It was horrendous at first. Those monsters are so hard to contain, but I've managed to get the hang of it."

Lily offered a sympathetic smile, taking note that the timid wizzrobe looked genuinely happy to see her okay. It made her feel glad. But there was something else that was nagging at the back of her thoughts, something didn't quite feel right.

She... Had to ask Vaati what was going on.

"Robbie, can you tell me where Vaati went, I need to speak to him." Lily suddenly asked.

Robbie saw the slight urgency in her eyes but decided not to pry, "He went out on the main balcony not too far from here."

Lily nodded her thanks and exited the room.

On the balcony stood Vaati, gazing out into the open clouds. Lena still hadn't come back from the mission he ordered. The mage sighed and shook his head, he may have underestimated her abilities before, but it looks like she's finally met her match.

Vaati let out a chuckle, that petty hero had actually abandoned his kingdom to look for his daughter, his kingdom for Din's sake! At this point, he could just waltz right in and claim the kingdom his own, simple. But no, not this time, he had other plans.

Why claim the kingdom of Hyrule? When he could just rule from up here, get rid of the hero, and throw Hyrule in complete chaos? Yes, that sounded like a better idea. Now all he has to do is play the strings of the puppet, sit back and watch how this all unfolds.

"Vaati?"

Lily stood behind him, standing there with her head down. She sounded so timid, so fragile, so...breakable.

"Yes?" The mage answered, sounding unsure himself.

Lily stood for a moment as if contemplating what to say or how to say it. The wind blew between the two, caressing the fabric of their clothes and tousling their hair.

"My father is in danger, isn't he."

That came out as a statement more than a question. It wasn't a plea of help or a desperate cry of the release of her imprisonment, but a simple bold-faced truth.

This time, Lily looked into his eyes and instead saw something human. If only for the briefest second.

Both of them already knew the answer, Lily knew that much. She just wanted to hear it out loud.

"Your father has been in danger the moment I broke free from the seal, Lily."

Lily could feel herself beginning to shake, from fear or from anger, she knew not.

"No, I- I know what you're trying to do! You-!"

Lily couldn't finish her sentence before collapsing on her knees, shoulders shaking from repressing her tears.

"You bastard."

She finally managed to say, before succumbing to sobs. What did she really expect? Of course, she knew the reality of the situation, but apart of her was in strong denial. She didn't want to believe that her only last family member, was being targeted by the Wind mage himself.

Oh, she had been a fool!

Sobs continued to rack her small form, her hand covering her mouth in a pathetic attempt to quiet them.

The mage surveyed the broken girl before him, staring at her with unreadable eyes.

Something deep within him was...disturbed at her petulant behavior. He didn't like it when people became emotional in front of him, which usually resulted in quick petrification.

Though something about the way she broke down in front of him as if she were some hungry infant, made him feel guilty.

Of course, he was the reason to blame why the girl was in such hysterics, though he wasn't blaming himself. He was just simply perturbed at her antics. He needed the crying to stop, now.

With a huff of annoyance, he muttered a spell and had her levitated to her feet. "Get up"

Though she didn't seem to hear him, she continued to ball her eyes out and ball her fists against the pavement.

"I hate it, I hate you!"

The mage's eye twitched in irritation, he's had enough of her childish behavior!

The wind suddenly begins to pick up around him, he stomped over to her and grabbed her by the collar of her dress.

"You will stop your insolent behavior or by Nayru I'll have you petrified!"

Lily's crying ceased a little, "Is that what you did to those people? In the garden? You monster!" She hiccupped.

Vaati snarled, He was at his wit's end with Lily and her infernal bantering.

"What's stopping you? Why don't you just kill me already and get it over with! You!-"

She didn't finish her sentence when she felt warm lips crushed against her own.

"Mmph?!"

The mage did not release his hold on her, instead, deepening the kiss.

Lily pounded her fists on his tunic, releasing all her pent-up frustration. Her shoulder began to slump, and soon she hopelessly gave into the bruising kiss.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Link awakens the power of the Four sword. Meanwhile, Vaati has bigger plans.

Across the battlefield lay dozens of fallen soldiers, their bodies were strewn across the blood-stained grass. A giant stalfos clawed its way through the last remaining soldiers, making sure that none were left standing. All around looked like a bloodbath.

Against the many monsters that had been summoned in the battle, the soldiers were left outnumbered in the end. In the distance, stood Link at the front lines; bloody and battered.

His breath came in shallow breaths as he raised his sword against Lena. "Have you gotten what you wanted? To see my comrades defeated?" He spits out.

Lena, who stood not far, only shook her head, "Your comrades were in the way, besides, they were foolish enough to think that they can go up against my summon."

She was somewhat right, however, even down to their last numbers they still had fought to the end. Link heard footsteps shuffle up next to him and turned around to see Raymond. He was bruised up bad, but he still had a determined smile on his face.

"D-don't worry your M-majesty, I've still got a fight left in me." He muttered out.

Link released his breath at the sound of his friend's voice, he was glad he was still alive. Link placed a hand on his soldier, "It's good to see you well."

Raymond released a breathy chuckle, "I don't think you s-should worry about t-this one, I can tell she d-doesn't really want to d-do this."

Link look puzzled, then he slowly turned his gaze toward the sorceress. Ah, there it was, a look of subtle hesitation on her face. Lena's arms were crossed, but her demeanor was faltering. Her eyes were narrowed with annoyance and reluctance, he was right. Still, he wasn't about to let his guard down.

Lena was still a dangerous opponent that had killed all of his men. That was unforgivable.

He began to address the wizzrobe, "We know where you have her, tell us how to get there, or I won't consider sparing you."

Lena regarded him for a moment, appearing to consider his words, "If you really want to know, you'll have to fight me. One on one this time."

Link looked back at Raymond, giving him a firm nod. His friend knew that look all too well, it meant to stay back.

Turning around to face Lena, he began walking towards her. As soon as they were at a distance, Link felt the four sword grow warm in his hand. He looked down at it to see it glowing.

The warmth then spread from his hand to his body, it engulfed him entirely with its blinding light. Lena took this chance to make the first move, conjuring up a spell and hurling it Links way. The hero, transfixed at what was happening, barely had time to dodge her attack. All he could do was brace himself for the impact.

Suddenly, he heard swearing and an explosion. He opens his eyes to see that the light surrounding him had somehow deflected her attack.

The sorceress had been struck with her own magic!

The light that surrounded him vanished immediately as well as the warmth. He felt... Odd.

Lena, recovering from her failed attack, noticed that there was not only one Link but four of them. "H-Heh, how do you do your Majesty's" She grimaced.

What was she talking about? Then he noticed it, he saw three of himself. All of them were wearing different colored tunics, red, blue, and violet.

Raymond surveyed the scene before him, he had never seen this happen in all thirty-three years of his life. He's seen some pretty strange stuff too, but this just took the cake.

"Nice to meet you as well!" The red one chirped.

Link in the blue tunic kicked red's foot, "We're not here to greet people idiot! We're here to kick some ass!"

Violet Link sighed and scoffed, "We don't need your sharp tongue Red, can't you behave yourself for one day?"

Link watched as the three continued to bicker, wondering if he should say something yet. "Um, Hello?"

The three stopped and finally gave their attention to him. The three of them bowed at the same time. "Greetings." They said simultaneously.

Link wasn't sure what was going on, but somehow this was beginning to feel familiar somehow. It's as if he'd done it in another lifetime.

"What's going on?" Link decidedly asked. He wasn't sure if this was a trap.

"How should we put this", Red started.

"We're here because you summoned us." Violet finished.

"Yeah, and help you kick some monsters a-" Before Blue could finish, Violet punched his shoulder.

"Are you three perhaps, the mythical trio of the Four sword?" Raymond piqued in.

"As you can see we are not mythical, were real, and we're here to help," Violet answered, hands crossed over his chest.

Link processed this for a moment. If all they said was true, then there was only one way forward. "Lend me all your strength."

The three eagerly nodded and gave a thumbs-up, "Yes sir!"

They then turned towards the wizzrobe before them, almost having forgotten her presence.

"You guys done talking or what?" Lena called out, her patience growing thin.

"Yea, maybe." Blue shrugged.

"Alright, guys. Be careful." Link said, aiming his sword towards the sorceress.

"You got it, boss!" Red chirped.

Lena grinned, she floated upwards until she was above them. Electricity formed around her, "See if you can deflect this."

She shot her bolts at the trio, the electricity splitting into dozens. The three Links got into a square formation, each preparing to repel the attack. Link ran to the front and blocked the bolt in time as it singed the edge of his cape.

The electricity sparked through the surrounding air, the bolts flying in random directions. The trio looked up to see Lena preparing another spell, this time more bolts formed around her.

"Ah really, more bolts?" Blue scoffed.

Lena chuckled, "You misunderstand, these aren't just any bolts. Once I summon these bolts, they never disappear, they only grow stronger over time."

As she said that, more electricity shot at them.

"Spread out!" Link shouted.

The trio dodged an onset of bolts, each one getting closer to them. Violet swiftly sidestepped out of the way as another wave of magic came at him. Blue was swinging his sword at the bolts, repelling them with each blow. Red had his shield out, on the defense.

"Take this!" Blue yelled out as he swung a bolt back at the sorceress.

The bolt separated into three and all at once struck Lena with its force. However, she threw her force field up just in time of the impact, thus, missing her by an inch.

Lena brushed herself off, gazing smugly down at the four heroes, "Impressive shot, but not good enough."

Just then, a wave of powerful energy blasted its way through the heroes, sending them off balance.

"How are you holding up Violet?" Called out Red.

"Just swell," Violet replied sarcastically.

In the distance, Link pushed his way towards the witch, hoping to catch her off guard with a sneak-attack. When he was able to get close enough he sent a slash at Lena. She was easily able to deflect it.

"Tch, you'll have to do better than that."

She kicked Link's chest and sent him flying backward. The hero used his sword for leverage to break his fall and landed not too far from the trio. Link grimaced as he felt soreness in his chest from the kick, he would definitely need to use a fairy later.

"You okay there!" He heard Blue call out.

Link felt himself being helped up and looked to see his friend Raymond, who had been watching the whole ordeal. "Easy there."

"I'm alright" Link muttered, sending his friend a thankful glance, before heading back to the battlefield.

Slap!

The mage grabbed his cheek where she hit him, a red mark forming in place. Vaati did not move or say anything, instead, he sat there silently. His long hair covered his expression, and for a moment Lily was terrified he might lash out at her.

She was afraid to move until he heard him spoke, "The sorceress is facing the hero as we speak. Though I suspect the hero is stronger after all. I'll soon join the battle and finish him once and for all."

Lily felt numb, she couldn't bring herself to react, or to shed any more tears.

"I will rule both Hyrule and the Palace of winds as I rightfully should", The mage continued.

"What will happen to me?" Lily whispered.

"You will no longer have a place to call home, or any family left. You'll have no one else to save you. So tell me, Lily, what do you think will happen to you?"

Lily couldn't find the words, she only stared at the ground.

Vaati turned to look fully at her, his red visible eye glowing, "You will belong to me and me only. I am your future King, and I will have you as my bride."

The young princess grew pale at his words, not wanting to believe a single word of it. "My father will defeat you."

Though her words fell on deaf ears, and he was already gone, Lily was left alone.

She slowly stood up and walked over to the ledge of the balcony. Peering out at the clouds beneath her, she felt a sense of emptiness. If that was to be her fate, then so be it.

"Lady Lily?" She heard Robbie's voice.

She turned around to see her friend twiddling his thumbs as usual, "I- I didn't want to intrude on you and the m-master's convo-"

"It's okay, Robbie, really," replied Lily.

She stepped forward and placed a hand on the timid wizzrobe's shoulder.

"Thank you for taking care of me, and for always being there when I needed it the most. You saved my life, Robbie."

The wizzrobe blushed and looked away, "Of course, Lady Lily, after all, you've grown to become very dear to my heart."

Gratitude began to feel Lily's heart, temporarily replacing the sorrow. "Thank you, Robbie."

"Feel like giving up?"

Lena shouted as she shot magic-infused knives at them. The trio split up and ran in opposite directions to avoid getting hit by them.

Violet grabbed a bomb from his pouch and threw it at the sorceress, grinning when it made contact and blew up. "Woohoo!, go Violet!" Shouted Red.

Link deflected a knife with his shield, he looked up at Lena to see that she had been hit.

The surrounding smoke blew away to reveal a livid Lena, she shook herself off and threw a glare, "You didn't really think you could get rid of me that easily, did you? Well, you've got another thing coming!"

As she said that a powerful energy force swirled around her, creating a whirlwind. The trio and the hero stood their ground, waiting for her next move.

Suddenly, a blinding white light appears before them. In a flash of an eye, a familiar figure emerged in front of Lena.

"Even at your full capacity, your still weak for the hero, I'm disappointed in you Lena."

The disgruntled sorceress stared wide-eyed at her master, "L-Lord Vaati, what are you?-"

However, she didn't get to finish her sentence as she soon began to feel herself growing weak. She looked expectantly at the mage, silently questioning him.

Vaati stepped in front of her, "It's time to relinquish you of this form, you're of no use to me anymore."

The sorceress realized what he meant and panic overtook her, "N-No, you can't do this!"

But it was too late. A light began to glow from within her, it burned as it spread out through her body. She screamed as she felt her body transform back into its original state.

Her powers, her identity as a wizzrobe, gone.

A Hylian girl replaced the once-powerful sorceress, she had shoulder-length black hair and almond-shaped violet eyes. Her naked form shivered as she covered her body, she closed her eyes in shame.

The mage kneeled down and put his cloak around her to give some form of modesty left, "You've managed to keep your secret hidden for so long. That contract you made with Gilard years ago is now erased, you will no longer live on as a wizzrobe, but as a human. Think of this as an act of mercy instead of a punishment."

Lena put her head down in defeat, "I would rather you just kill me." Vaati chuckled and stood up, "Today is your lucky day, after all, death would be too easy for you."

He turned around, "Now, I have business to attend to." He snapped his fingers and teleported her back to the Palace of winds.

In the distance, Link and the trio were very confused at what just took place. "Yo, what just happened?" Blue asked.

Violet shook his head, "Something that we weren't supposed to see."

Red shuffled his feet, looking at the spot where Lena had disappeared, "I don't know, but I kinda feel bad now."

Link and Raymond both exchanged a puzzled look. "I knew I had a hunch she was innocent," Raymond said half-jokingly.

Link sighed, "Never mind that, we have a bigger threat now."

The hero walked up to the sorcerer, his hand tightening on his sword as a sudden rage-filled him, "You're going to take me to Lily." He demanded.

Vaati suddenly smiled, it made Link's blood run cold.

"She belongs to me now."

As he said that, the sky above grew dark and cold. Black clouds formed above and a powerful gale blew around them. The mage's body began to float from the ground as a black force formed and molded around his body.

A giant black eyeball peered down at the group, It's single red eye filled with malice.

Link and the trio readied their swords, this was going to be one hell of a fight.


End file.
